Forgotten Secrets
by numbah 1 HPFan
Summary: Kailey & Keena now lead separate lives w/ 1 connection: Harry Potter. His best friend & godmother now have the chance to alter the outcome of 4th year but will they remember how? P5 after Promises to Secrets More info in chapter1! P6 is Lies of Truth!
1. Chapter 1

Forgotten Secrets

Chapter One: Plans of Engagement

**I've written four stories in this series and I still own nothing more than Keena and Kailey and I don't even get paid for thinking them up. All props go to JK! **

**Yep, I'm back again and this is the fifth installment of the series! Kudos to you for sticking with it and thank you so much! But let's have a recap, shall we? Kailey is our main character, she is from America and has read the Harry Potter series (books 1-6). She went back in time at the end of her second year and developed a second soul, who became Keena. Keena grew up with the Marauders as a foster daughter to James' parents and she, Lily and Remus worked in the Department of Mysteries where they developed a spell which undoes the killing curse as well as brings people back to the living under certain circumstances (like having a soul). So, Lily and James are alive and have just come back into Harry's life at the end of his third year, but the rest of the world still thinks they are dead and Sirius has been declared innocent. Kailey and Keena no longer share a body and are now officially separate people which has made them both (as well as Sirius) very happy. Kailey is also Snape's daughter but because of the impending return of Voldemort, she cannot safely live with him so she is with Harry, Lily and the remaining Marauders at Potter Mansion and that is where we will begin. Don't forget that point of views switch between Keena and Kailey. Some chapters may only contain one, but I'll let you know. If you have any further questions please review with them and I'll do my best to answer in the beginning of chapter three.**

**Enjoy! **

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Harry, James, Sirius and Remus were all outside playing a makeshift game of Quidditch while Lily, Keena and I watched from below. Ever since they had dumped over a gallon's worth of water onto my head at the beginning of the summer the boys had tried (and failed) to get me up in the air. What was so hard to understand about having a dislike of heights? I shook my head as I remembered their latest attempt to get me onto a broom, smirking.

"What's so funny, Kailey?" Lily asked, grinning as though she would rather not know what was making me smile. Lily was sweet and she had acted the part of my mother ever since I had ended up living with Lily and James last term, course I hadn't liked it so much back then because Keena and I were still connected and it felt a little insulting for a friend to act that way. Now, though, it was just nice.

"She's probably thinking of how much she wants Harry to take her for a broom ride again," Keena teased, her chocolate eyes sparkling. She was like a counter-part and it was strange that we could hold conversations now without talking to ourselves. Weird, I know, but true. Now she acted like an older sister more than anything, which was a little different considering how Lily treated me. I guess she just didn't want to seem like a hypocrite if she were to punish me or something. Then again, she was just as prone to giving a good prank as I was, probably more so.

"I'm not thinking of that! You know how I feel about heights," I glared at her but broke into a grin seconds later. "I was just thinking about how miserably they failed last time they tried to get me to go up there, I mean really, me playing Quidditch? No thanks,"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Keena agreed, nodding thoughtfully. "I don't disagree with you either,"

"It's a pity, though," Lily sighed.

"What is?" I asked, curious.

"Well, I know Harry would love to have a friend to ride with him once those old men get tired," she explained, giving me a meaningful look.

"Oh no, you are not getting me to go up there, I thought you were on my side?" I accused, feeling betrayed. Hey, I didn't see her going up there, now did I? "Why not have Ron Weasley come over? Hermione too, they both know that you and James are alive anyway,"

"Yeah, and the Weasley's won't tell anyone in any case," Keena agreed. She, Remus and Sirius had bothered Lily and James about coming back into the public eye all summer; though they all thought that Harry and I had no idea whenever the subject was being brought up.

"I'll talk to James about it," Lily decided, turning to face the boys in the air again. "We could have them over for Harry's birthday, maybe have a party…would he like something like that?" she asked worriedly. She had been worrying a lot about Harry lately. She wanted to make up for not being there for so long I suppose and she was constantly asking about things that he liked to do and what not.

"He'd love it," I confirmed with a smile. And he would too; he loved everything about his parents so far. Well, except when Lily had her little study sessions. We could both do with less of those. Apparently she'd promised Snape that I'd keep up with my studies over the break.

"Great, I'll definitely bring it up to James then," Lily grinned, looking up to the sky once more.

They played for a little longer until Remus, James and Sirius, as predicted, got too tired to keep going at the same pace as Harry. The four of them landed and one of the house elves brought out some lemonade for us all to drink. Sirius and James chugged it all down before asking for more. The poor elf looked shocked by the display and snapped her little fingers and two more pitchers appeared.

"I is thinking masters should not be drinking so fast," the little elf squeaked before blushing horribly and making a move to punish herself.

"I completely agree, you two had better slow it down," Keena said and the elf immediately relaxed. "Thank you—um, sorry, what's your name? I don't remember you from before,"

The original six Potter house elves had multiplied over the years at Hogwarts and fifteen of them had come back to Potter Mansion when James made the order that the Potter elves return.

"I is Twinkle, Mistress Keena," she said with a low bow. "Daughter of Twinkie and Binks, Mistress," she added when Keena continued to look confused.

"Oh, alright, well nice to meet you," Keena said with a grin. The elf blushed before she disappeared. The elves from Hogwarts were not used to so much human contact.

"Alright, girls," Sirius said, sitting up straight as though he were going to discuss something important with us. "We men—"

Keena and Lily both snorted while I sniggered.

"Are you quite done?" he glared.

"Sorry, it's just the idea of you three as adults is mind-boggling," Keena grinned.

Sirius huffed before continuing. "As I was saying, we have decided that it is only fair that you three get yourselves off the ground so we can play a more even match,"

"I'm sorry, but I prefer my feet on the ground, Mr. Black," I said, shaking my head.

"You're calling me old again," he whined. He hated it whenever I called him Mr. Black. The other four hated it as well. Harry and I found it amusing.

"You said you wanted to be considered an adult, Sirius," Remus reminded him.

"Thanks for the help, Moony old pal," Sirius replied sarcastically.

"Any time,"

"Besides," James said cutting in before the other two could get themselves into an argument. "It is not a matter of preference anymore. You three will go up in the air whether you like it or not,"

"And what are you proposing to do, James Potter?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow, her stereotypical redheaded flare beginning to make its presence known once more.

"That's a very good question, Harry why don't you answer," James said, shoving it all onto Harry's shoulders.

"Why me?" Harry asked as he realized it was all up to him.

"It is your duty as a Marauder in training to learn how to get girls to do these sorts of things," Sirius explained with a roll of his eyes.

"But you guys are Marauders and you still can't get them to do these things," Harry argued raising his eyebrow. "Not only that, but I thought Keena was a Marauder as well?"

Keena burst out laughing. "You definitely got your mother's brains," she said once she could speak again.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View:_

"But mum, why can't we stay up a bit later? It isn't as though we've got anything to wake up for in the morning," Harry begged. It was a week before his birthday and he had already tried that as an excuse to stay up later. Lily was adamant about putting the two of them to bed at eleven. She was probably making up for all the times she could not do that before.

"Harry, I suggest you listen to her, you won't be winning this argument," I said from my seat on the couch next to Sirius.

"What makes you say that?" Kailey asked with an eyebrow raised.

"The two of you haven't won this argument all summer," Sirius reminded them.

They frowned and swapped glances before turning and heading up the stairs to their respective rooms. I managed not to laugh out loud at the pair of them as I snuggled closer to Sirius who put his arm around me.

"So are there still two beds in your room?" Remus teased as he noticed Sirius' action.

Sirius grumbled a little but I nodded. "No need for too much temptation," I said and Sirius rolled his eyes when he thought I wasn't paying attention. "You are such a man," he just shrugged.

"I just don't see what your problem is, Lily and James—"

"Are married," I finished for him. "We are not going through that again," I added, referring to Aradia. He nodded in agreement.

"So, Lily, when are you going to tell Harry about his party?" James asked, easing the awkward silence that always followed any mention of our unborn and soulless child.

"I think I'm just going to make it into a surprise party," she answered thoughtfully. "I've already told Kailey not to say anything to him about it we just need to figure out how to invite his friends without it becoming a big to do about how we're alive,"

"Well, that should be easy enough, Arthur and Molly handle their kids pretty well," I said. "You'll just have to explain to them before hand, maybe even nip over to the Burrow for a quick visit one day so it isn't a shock,"

"That's what I was thinking," she agreed, looking up at James. "Maybe we should do that,"

"And just leave Harry and Kailey alone for the day? He'll get curious about why we even want to meet them," James pointed out.

"We don't need to leave them alone," Lily said, shaking her head. "Sirius and Remus could stay with them, and maybe Keena could come with us. Would you mind?"

"No I wouldn't mind at all," I answered shaking my head. "Why me, though?"

"You've been in contact with them for all these years, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I babysat for them ever since the twins were little and Percy was in school," I answered nodding my head. "You just want someone they trust there, then?"

Lily nodded.

"Alright, when do we go?" I asked.

"I'll do you one better," Sirius said. "What are you going to tell the other two?"

* * *

"Shopping?" Harry asked as he and Kailey exchanged looks of disbelief. "What for?"

"Never you mind," Lily said, shrugging on her travelling cloak. "We'll be back sometime later on, so just behave for Sirius and Remus, alright you two?"

They nodded, still looking doubtful.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" James called as the three of us grabbed a hold of the portkey that would take us directly to the Burrow.

"What wouldn't you do?" Remus asked just as we disappeared from their view.

The three of us managed to land standing, though I was a bit more wobbly than the other two. In my defense, my body was still under two months old in all technicality.

We walked up the driveway and up to the rickety looking house where you could practically see the magic holding the whole thing together. James looked back at Lily and me before knocking on the door. There was some shouting on the other side of it, arguing over who would answer by the sound of it before it opened revealing a taller Ron Weasley.

"Oh, er, Mr. and Mrs. Potter and…um…" he frowned looking at me strangely. He and Hermione had yet to see me separated from Kailey, so they were used to me with black hair and blue eyes.

"It's Keena, Ron," I said with a smile. "Kailey and I've been separated," I added.

"Oh, that's great! Um, why don't you come in," he suggested, moving out of the way. "Where are the others, then?"

"They're at home," James said. "Lily and I've just come to speak with your mum and dad," he added at Ron's confused look.

"I thought you weren't going to let anybody know yet?"

"We aren't, but we also wanted to give Harry a surprise birthday party and it wouldn't do to have people gawking at us throughout all of it," Lily answered. Ron nodded in understanding before calling for Molly who was upstairs yelling at Fred and George for something.

The Weasley matriarch came bustling down the stairs at Ron's call and came to a crashing halt once she caught sight of Lily and James. She stood staring for about a minute and I swapped and glance with Ron who looked like he was trying to hold in his laughter at her display of shock. I grinned and looked back at Molly whose mouth was now hanging open in complete shock.

"Molly? Maybe you would like to sit down," I suggested. She just nodded and Ron helped her to a seat at the kitchen table. "Would you like a calming drought?"

"No…" she said before staring again. "Ronald, dear?"

"Yes mum?"

"Could you perhaps go upstairs for a bit?"

He nodded before heading up to his room. Once we heard a door shut Molly stood up again and marched over to Lily and James.

"I do not know how you could possibly be standing here but that hardly matters. How could you just leave poor Harry to those horrid muggles all those years? Why you should be ashamed of yourselves! Does he even know about the two of you? This is just dreadful! Why in all my years I've never seen such a display!" she ranted, hands on her hips and her wand poking out of her apron.

Lily and James looked properly ashamed and neither could make themselves meet Molly in the eye as she yelled at them. There was a commotion on the stairs and I turned to see the twins, Ginny, Ron, Charlie and Bill all staring as well.

"Molly, I hate to interrupt and you have made excellent points through all of this, but I'm afraid we now have an audience," I said stopping her as she drew a breath.

She turned and noticed all of her children with the exception of Percy staring at their mother with expressions ranging from embarrassment (poor Ron's ears were completely red) all the way to confusion (particularly Ginny). Unfortunately she turned to Ron next.

"Ronald Weasley! Did you know that James and Lily Potter were alive and not mention it to me?" she roared.

"Molly, would you have seriously believed him?" I asked. She huffed but calmed down meanwhile his brothers were staring at him in shock and Ginny was looking at Lily and James with what might be described as fury.

"I would like an explanation," she said turning back to Lily and James who were standing a little straighter now that she had stopped yelling. "What is going on? And I'm sorry dear, but did you dye your hair?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I was tired of dealing with all the stares I was getting," I answered. She didn't know about my connection with Kailey nor did she need to.

"Molly, maybe we should all take a seat so we can explain everything to you," James suggested.

"So wait," Bill came into the kitchen and leaned on a table. "The two of you really are James and Lily?" They nodded and Bill sat down before looking at his mother and siblings. "Are you lot going to sit and hear this or not?"

Moments later we all surrounded the tiny kitchen table while Molly made a quick pot of tea, ordering Ginny to help her as she did so.

"I'm not quite certain where to start," James admitted, looking at me. "I suppose it all begins with Keena," he added.

"After the death of…" I paused and looked at James for help.

"My father," he filled in for me so that I wouldn't have to say it. I looked at him gratefully.

"Yes, well we all took it very hard but I decided that there must be a way to stop something like that from happening to anyone else," I explained, editing out various promises and secrets. "Lily, myself as well as Remus began researching for the Department of Mysteries. Particularly the Spell Inventions Division,"

"Wait, Professor Lupin?" Ginny asked.

"He invented spells?" Ron echoed.

"Yeah," I answered simply.

"Wicked," they grinned.

"Anyway, many of the spells we invented were considered pointless for the ministry to use, including spells that can help you snake your way through crowds or that create incredibly strong shields," Lily continued. "All the while we searched for a way to prevent death but then one day, while I was pregnant with Harry, one of our experiments sort of…exploded,"

"Next thing I know, Keena is running up the stairs from our basement screaming at me to get down there and to floo the healer," James laughed, shaking his head.

"I didn't scream, that was you," I smirked when Ginny giggled and Molly laughed. He stuck his tongue out at me and I replied in suite.

"Could either of you act your age at least once?" Lily sighed shaking her head. We just stared at her with raised eyebrows. "Well, in any case, that's how we discovered the spell. Instead of being a counter-curse it turned out to reverse the effects of _Avada Kedavra_,"

"Then how were you brought back to life?" Charlie asked, looking between the two of them.

"I was there the day that Voldemort came to the house," I explained. "They were hardly dead five minutes before I brought James back and then he brought Lily back,"

"The problem was we knew that the war wouldn't end there, Voldemort is still a threat and Lily and I have been doing research on how to destroy the bas—maniac." James amended at the look on Molly's face. "That and some stuff on lycanthropy,"

Charlie gasped. "You were the one who came with Keena that day…Merlin, when was it? Last year wasn't it; you came and asked for blood samples,"

James nodded. "They've been terribly helpful," Lily added. "I'm hoping to make some sort of breakthrough soon,"

"But I'm confused," Bill said. "Why are the two of you coming to us? Why aren't you will Harry?"

"We're coming to invite you to Harry's surprise birthday party," Lily answered. "It'll be small, just your family and Hermione Granger,"

"What about Kailey Snape?" Ron asked.

Ginny gave an almost unnoticeable huff and roll of the eyes. _What in Merlin's name…?_

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron," George rolled his own eyes.

"Yeah, of course they'll invite her," Fred added.

"She lives with us," Lily inserted. "But that is another story,"

"So would you all like to come?" James added.

"Depends," Fred said evenly.

"Will there be cake?" George added.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

As soon as Keena, Lily and James left, the four of us set to work getting everything ready for their return. Shopping was the lamest excuse on the planet but if it got Keena out of the house then the rest of us were all for it.

Sirius had come to talk to Harry and me earlier this morning to explain his plan and we had readily agreed to it.

"What d'you think she'll say?" Harry asked as we helped the elves cook. They were none too happy about it but Harry had told them that we wanted to do something and 'whatever young master desires is the elves' greatest joy to serve,'

"I dunno, there's a fifty-fifty chance, isn't there?" I answered with a grin.

"But you know the future," he argued, frowning as though I were keeping a secret from him again.

"What I know is much less concrete than it once was," I answered shaking my head as I cracked open an egg for the cake we were making. "You need to remember, your parents should be dead, Sirius should still be on the run, you should be at the Dursley's and Keena and I shouldn't exist,"

"That is all completely beside my point," he replied rolling his eyes.

"Tough luck, mate," I said sticking out my tongue.

"Very mature," he grinned.

"I thought so,"

We finished making the cake and decided to wander around the house until the others got home or until Sirius and Remus got frustrated with the noise we were making as we ran all over the house. Sirius ended up kicking us out of the house telling us to go and explore the woods for a bit if I didn't want to fly. His nerves were making him a little restless and more annoyed than usual so Harry and I just laughed quietly and let his behavior slide. That and we couldn't think of a good enough retaliation for the moment.

As we wandered through the woods we came upon a small shack that looked as though it had been ignored for decades. We opened the door and cautiously stepped inside. There was a table and a few chairs with a set of exploding snap sitting on the table along with a chess board. Leaves and chess pieces littered the floor of the musty shack and there was some writing on the wall but it had faded into nearly nothing.

"Do you think this is part of the property?" Harry asked and I shrugged.

"Looks a bit like a muggle fort except for the chess and the exploding snap," I answered. "Maybe the Marauders came out here during the summer," he nodded before facing me.

"Want to play a game of chess if we find all the pieces?"

"Alright,"

We headed back to the house an hour later to find that Remus was yelling at Sirius for kicking us out into the 'open'. Honestly, it was just the backyard.

"Where in Merlin's name did you two go off to?" Remus demanded, Sirius sulking on a chair in the kitchen.

"We found a shack out in the woods," Harry answered somewhat timidly. Neither of us had ever seen the werewolf so angry and it was almost worse than Snape on his good days.

Sirius perked up in his seat. "You mean the secret fort?"

"Yeah, we were in there playing chess," Harry answered with a nod.

"You mean you were beating me," I amended, giving him a swat on the shoulder.

"We had a lot of good memories of that place," Sirius said with a smile. "We made our first animagus transformations in there,"

"Really?" Harry asked, going to sit next to Sirius at the table. He relished learning about his parents' history and we'd heard what must have been hundreds of funny stories from the four Marauders and even a couple from Lily.

"That was also the place the other four told me they knew about my secret," Remus added, going off into space himself.

"Scared him silly that we knew too," Sirius added with his bark like laugh.

"Remus, you are ridiculous to think they'd've left you," I smirked, shaking my head while Remus shrugged in response.

Suddenly the fire glowed green and James stepped in, shaking soot out of his hair as he did so.

"You lot better clear out before she comes in," he said as Lily stepped through. Without another word, the five of us scurried to the staircase while Sirius stood up, his nerves returning full strength.

"I didn't think he'd be so nervous," Harry muttered as we all headed upstairs.

"Well, last time he was sure what she would say but I think it's obvious that the first time didn't exactly go well for him," James answered.

"Then they ended up with Aradia in any case," Lily added. "So it was that much worse for them after the dementor attack because they had just accepted what was happening,"

"Is that why he's been dropping hints about having two beds?" I wondered aloud. I had forgotten all of the time that Keena had spent with the Marauders now that we were separate. I only had as good of an idea about what they were talking about as Harry did.

"Yeah, she's worried that they'll repeat history," Remus answered when James and Lily both hesitated. "The dementor included,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View:_

I tripped out of the fireplace and found myself being caught by Sirius. He laughed at me as he set me straight on my feet and I mock glared at him as I wiped the soot off of my cloak. Then I looked around.

"Where did everybody go?" I asked when I realized that no one else was in the room. Then I smelled something sweet. "Do I smell cake?"

"Yeah, c'mon," he said, grabbing my hand and leading me into the dining room. Except the dining room table was missing and in its place was a small circular table. It seemed eerily familiar. On the table were two pieces of vanilla cake with chocolate frosting along with a bottle sparkling cider.

"Am I missing a special occasion?" I asked, fighting to keep a silly grin off of my face. _Thank Merlin and the Founders he didn't choose wine…I don't like it all that much…_

"Well that all depends," he answered with a cocky grin though I noted that his gray eyes were giving me an almost pleading look.

"On what exactly?" I asked in return, my heart skipping a beat as he knelt to the ground.

"On your answer," he said, opening the familiar black velvet box. The ring was the same one that he had proposed to me with before; a silver band with a diamond in the shape of a heart centered between two smaller diamonds cut in the same manner. My breath caught as my heart stuttered again. "Keena McIntosh Potter, will you marry me?"

I laughed before I got my breathing under control again and said "Yes, Sirius Black, I will marry you,"

He grinned as he stood up, sliding the ring onto my left hand and sweeping me into a deep kiss. The cake sat forgotten on the table.

**Yay! The end of my first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and will review before you head onto the second chapter which is to be posted asap! All references to the past of the Marauders can be found in either ****Blind Secrets****, ****Making Promises**** with a few from ****Promises to Secrets, Secrets to Lies****! **

**:-D**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Birthday Party

**I don't own it. **

**Thanks in advance for the reviews! Enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Ever since their engagement, Sirius and Keena had been nearly inseparable. Though it was usually adorable, sometimes they just took it too far for my comfort zone.

"Guys, seriously, there are kids in here, go get a room," James said rolling his eyes at breakfast the morning of Harry's birthday. Harry and I had just walked in the room. "No puns," he added when Sirius opened his mouth to make a joke.

"Sorry, James," Keena said instead. "And a very happy birthday to you, Harry," she added with a smile. She was quickly followed by the rest of the adults and Lily ran over to Harry, squishing him in a hug.

"Mum, I need air," he choked out, though he was laughing when she released him.

"My baby boy is fourteen!" she cried, running a hand thru his hair.

"Exactly, Lily, he's fourteen, you're embarrassing him," James laughed, coming over to give Harry a hug as well. "Happy birthday, son," he added in a quiet undertone.

"Thanks," Harry answered as he grinned. He was almost glowing with happiness.

The day carried on as any other, the boys going out to play Quidditch before Sirius, James and Remus grew too tired. The four of them landed on the ground, all looking at me with pleading expressions. Lily and Keena had gone inside, telling me that if it came to it, I would most likely need to stall Harry from coming inside before one in the afternoon. It was only noon now.

"Please?" Harry asked looking at me with green puppy-dog eyes.

"Harry," I whined in protest. "Can't we just let it rest? Maybe go and explore the woods?"

"But Kailey, it's my birthday," he pouted and I gave a sigh. "Yes!" he grinned pumping his fist up in the air.

"But what will I use for a broom?" I asked, rolling my eyes at his display. He was such a boy.

"You can use mine," Sirius offered, handing me the broom.

"Wow, thanks," I said sarcastically.

He smirked and the three men went inside to help Lily and Keena finish up. With a little luck they'd be done early. Too bad the guests couldn't be early.

"Ready?" Harry asked when I looked back over to see him already hovering in the air.

"Nope," I answered, holding the broom away from me as though it would bite.

He laughed at me and landed before showing me how to mount. "Now you just kick off from the ground like this," he said blasting off into the sky. I gulped. "C'mon!" he called.

"Are you sure I should be doing this right now? I mean is the wind right and everything?"

"Kailey, there is no wind," he called from his height in the sky.

"What about the temperature or the air pressure?" I asked grasping at straws.

"You're just stalling," he said rolling his eyes.

"And your point is?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"C'mon, you won't fall," he said coming lower, a smirk present on his face. I looked at him doubtfully. "Alright, I won't let you fall," he amended.

"Promise?"

"I promise,"

I sighed and squeezed my eyes shut. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think I can do this," I let out in a whisper, my shoulders slumping.

I heard him land next to me and felt him place a hand on my shoulder. "I think you can," he said supportively. "I mean, the other day at Hogwarts we went up and you were fine,"

I felt myself blushing and I turned away. "That was different,"

"Oh," he said and I could tell that he understood what I meant. _How embarrassing…_ "Yeah it was different, wasn't it?" If anything, this made my face heat up even more.

"Buckbeak was extremely different," I added, hoping to lighten the mood and to direct the conversation away from where it had been heading.

He gave what I wanted to call a nervous laugh before he sighed. "Yeah, that was something else all together,"

"In all honesty, I think I'd rather ride a hippogriff," I said, turning to face him as I felt my face return to its normal temperature.

"Why? They've got wings and they're not steady at all," he asked in disgust, one eyebrow raised high.

"Think about it," I said earnestly. "A broom can be jinxed to buck you off of it but a hippogriff will only let you ride it if it wants you to. Therefore, it would not allow you to fall,"

"But what about the comfort factor?" he asked, still disbelieving.

"With heights, there is no comfort factor, it's either high or higher," I answered stubbornly.

"You must have really hated your dad when he made me levitate you to clean the ceiling for that detention last year," he smirked, letting out a laugh. I, in all my maturity, stuck my tongue out at him in response. "Yes, let's throw a temper tantrum while we're at it," he grinned wickedly. Playing along, I frowned and stomped my foot. Then I shot up into the air with a surprised shriek.

I gripped the handle of the broom, hanging on for dear life, when Harry came zooming up to meet me, laughing. "You are the cruelest, meanest, awfulest best friend!" I accused, shaking. "Now get me down!"

"That's not a very nice thing to say to me on my birthday and besides, 'awfulest' is not a word," he laughed.

"It is today, buddy! Now how do I stop this thing?" I had begun rising again and I had no clue how to control where the broom was going or, more importantly, how to get down.

"Okay, calm down, that's the most important thing," he said sobering himself from another bout of laughter.

"Oh, I'll give you calm, you conniving little jerk!" I growled, though I began taking deep, even breaths. It didn't work and I kept shaking.

"Why don't we just try flying around a little?" he suggested. "You're already up here," he added when I opened my mouth to argue. I leveled him with a glare instead. "You're the one who promised you'd try it today," he reminded me in an almost sing-song voice.

"You guilted me into it," I called as he began flying around the yard. He didn't reply. "If you think that trying to get me to follow you will work you're sorely—!"

"Sorry, can't hear you, too much flying going on!" he called over, flashing me what I had decided to call the Potter-get-away-smile, as James often used it on Lily when she was angry. What annoyed me most about it was that it worked.

Carefully and hesitantly, I turned the broom to face where Harry was doing flips and dives before shooting into the air again. He was such a show off whenever he got onto the broom, though he might have just been enjoying himself every other time I knew he was doing it to annoy me. He took notice of my change in position and paused in the air, upside down I might add, watching to see what I would do. Or preparing to come and catch me if I fell, which was a distinct possibility. I took a deep breath and leaned forward slightly, shivering a little when the broom began to take me to where Harry was waiting.

Unable to wait for my snail pace, he met me halfway there with a goofy grin on his face. "I told you that you'd be able to do it, didn't I?"

I grumbled but didn't protest.

"D'you want to fly around the forest a bit?" he asked, clearly excited about having another person in the air aside from the easily tired old men. Although, non-stop Quidditch for at least three hours straight a day would tire anyone out who wasn't used to training.

"What, in the trees? Are you crazy? I only just got up here and you expect me to go gallivanting into some random forest all for the sake of exploration that we could do just as well on foot, I might add?" he just nodded eagerly. I deflated. "I will remember this and I expect amazing treatment on _my_ birthday,"

"You know, you're funny when you're trying to be angry," he said, flying off at the speed only his Firebolt could accomplish. "C'mon, you're as slow as molasses,"

"I'll show you slow," I said, bristling at the challenge. "Come on, Kail, no need to be frightened, you've seen them all go shooting forward, it can't be that hard," I muttered to myself.

"I'm not getting any younger!"

That did it.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Sirius and I had been pulled out of our moment by the living room window by a shriek and we looked out to see that Harry had indeed tricked Keena into getting up into the air. Sirius chuckled, shaking his head and I rolled my eyes. Men.

"So where were we?" he asked, pulling me closer to him.

"Well, love, we were originally going to set out some food," I said, pulling away from him and he grudgingly let go, giving me a pout. "Sirius, don't look at me like that," I said, looking away. When I looked back again he was wiggling his eyebrows at me. "Sirius," I said in a warning tone and he laughed. "Come on, it's Harry's birthday, we need to show some restraint,"

"Hate to break it to you, but we've never shown restraint," he told me with a wink. I blinked. Damn, he was right.

I opted to pull out my wand and set up the punch bowl with a flick of my wrist followed by chips and pretzels and other various treats.

"So, what do I need to do?" he asked, taking a handful of chips. I sent a mild stinging hex at him. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You're hovering, and I'll have none of that," I said. "And those are for the party," I added with a cheeky grin as he pouted at me.

"Kiss it better?" he asked, holding his unmarked hand out to me. I rolled my eyes. "Please?"

"Let's go and see if James and Remus need help with any of the other decorations," I suggested, heading for the dining room where the long table had been restored, the cake sitting innocently in its center. It was surrounded by sixteen chairs and place settings.

"But my hand—"

"I'll make it better later," I answered with a wink and he grinned. "After our wedding of course," he scowled before grumbling something unintelligible and I chose to ignore him.

"Finished in the living room then?" Lily asked once she noticed us. She was putting some finishing touches on the cake, including the magic candles that were not only difficult to blow out, but laughed at you when you failed. They wouldn't've melted had we lit them now, but they would laugh every time there was even the slightest movement in the room.

"Yes, we were just wondering if there was anything more to do," I said, taking a seat at the table. "Where have James and Remus gone off to?"

"They've gone about opening the wards around the floo to the Burrow specifically," she answered, giving the cake a last look over. "Are we sure he'll like this flavor?"

"Kailey said that Harry told her it was his favorite," I shrugged.

"How did she bring that up?" Sirius asked curiously.

"I think she probably just asked him straight out. He probably expects a cake, you know," Lily answered. "I just couldn't've asked myself, I'd've given it all away,"

"Oh, well, doesn't Harry have a muggle-born friend, Hermione right? How is she getting here?" Sirius asked, edging his way towards the cake.

"Touch that frosting, Sirius Black, and it'll be the last thing you ever do," Lily threatened, her green eyes blazing with ferocity. He retreated.

"She's coming with the Weasleys," I answered. "I think she's staying with them for a bit this summer as well,"

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, but I've got this funny feeling about it," I answered, scratching my head trying to remember but quickly letting it go. Kailey probably knew which meant that I didn't really have to know.

"The wards are officially down," James said proudly, coming into the room with Remus, who did a quick count of the place settings.

"Aren't there nine Weasleys?" he asked realizing there weren't enough plates.

"Percy has to work so he won't be coming," I explained.

"Poor Weatherby," James snickered and the rest of us laughed with the exception of Lily.

"That isn't funny, James, how would you feel if your boss—"

"My boss was Alastor Mad-eye Moody, he could name every freckle on every Weasley if he wanted to," James interrupted causing us all to laugh, Lily included this time.

"Did Harry get Kailey into the air?" Lily asked once we had sobered ourselves.

"Yeah, I think he tricked her though," Sirius answered with a grin. "He does take after his father, you know,"

"Detentions included," I added. Lily rolled her eyes as the other three smirked at each other. "Go ahead and laugh now, but it's soon to be you being summoned to the school randomly whenever Harry gets into trouble," I added to Sirius.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Well first year it was a troll and then again after the stone episode," Remus began.

"Then second year it was the chamber," I finished. "Merlin only knows what's to come,"

"Great," Sirius groaned. "But you've still got to come with me,"

"Yeah, but at least I'll be better prepared when we get called in for his latest escapade you, on the other hand, will be mortified and most likely over react just like Moony did every time something happened, even when we weren't called in to the school," I explained. "Then again, maybe it'll be different considering I've got no clue what's next anymore," I added as an afterthought.

"Good, then you'll understand how I felt all those other times," Remus informed me, folding his arms in a somewhat smug fashion. I just shrugged.

Suddenly there was a loud gonging noise from the kitchen that caused me to jump a foot in the air and Lily to give a little shriek. "What in bloody Merlin's name was that?" Sirius hissed.

"Didn't we tell you we put up an alarm on the floo?" Remus asked innocently as James shot an apologetic grin at Lily.

We all headed for the kitchen to see Mr. Weasley standing in the spotless room, admiring the refrigerator that Mrs. Potter had requested so that the house-elves' magic could be used on things other than keeping food cold. He looked around at the sound of our entrance and headed straight for James and Lily to grasp hands. He hadn't been home when we gave out the original invitation. As they reunited Remus went over to the fireplace to turn down the volume of the alarm so that Lily wouldn't have to kill James later. Just as he finished, green flames burst up and Bill stepped into the kitchen.

"Hello, Bill," I said, shaking his hand. "I trust you don't remember Sirius or Remus," I said, gesturing to the two men.

"No, I'm afraid not," he grinned, shaking their hands as Charlie came through the floo next followed shortly by the twins, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.

"Now that everyone is here, I think I'd better go and get the birthday boy," Lily beamed before pausing. "James, maybe you had better, they might still be flying," she amended after a moment.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I'd given up chasing him long ago and was just sailing along above the trees, trying not to fall off of the broom every time he would suddenly zoom out from below in the forest. I may not have as good a sense of when to be afraid all of the time, but that did not make me a complete fool and I just knew that if I were to try and maneuver between those vertical logs of death that I would more than likely need more than a couple of stitches from a muggle hospital.

I checked my watch again and let out a relieved sigh when the little hands informed me that it was finally time for the party to begin. I looked up and gave a shriek as my brain registered the fact that Harry was floating directly in front of my face.

"Boo!" he laughed, quickly swerving to my side and helping me steady on the broom. Again.

"Are you honestly trying to scare me to death?" I asked as he continued to laugh at me. "Seriously, Harry, how many times have I almost fallen off today?"

"The key word here would be 'almost' if I'm not mistaken," he answered with a mischievous grin. "You haven't fallen, nor will you fall,"

"Says you," I answered, sticking out my tongue. "C'mon, let's go back to the house before I do fall to my death,"

"I've fallen from higher altitudes," he replied, but following me back towards the house none the less. "And come out completely unscathed."

"First year you almost swallowed the snitch, second year Lockhart removed the bones from your broken arm and last year you would have died from that height had Dumbledore not been there to stop you from falling quite so fast,"

"Well, I lived didn't I?"

I just shook my head as the house finally came back into view to see James flying towards us. "What's your dad doing?"

"Maybe I won't have to stop flying today after all," Harry grinned.

"You're addicted,"

"So?"

"Hey you two," James called as he came closer. "Mum says it's time to come down for a bit, Harry,"

"Thank Merlin and the Founders," I grinned up at the sky before looking down. "How do I get down?"

After finally landing, we headed up to the house, laying the brooms next to Remus' on the back deck before opening the door to the living room and heading inside. Just as Harry walked through the door there was a shout of "Surprise!" as the Weasley's plus Hermione revealed themselves from the front hall.

Within moments two makeshift Quidditch teams were formed in teams of five with Ginny as referee, Hermione as score-keeper and myself as announcer just because I could.

"Now, this needs to be a nice, friendly game," I announced, waggling my finger at the twins who were playfully scowling at one another, each holding a beater's bat that James had found in the shed with his old Quidditch stuff, as well as the snitch, Quaffle and one Bludger.

"We'd also like to stress that seeing as it is Harry's birthday, his team shall be completely favored," Ginny added, smirking when the boys on the opposing team protested.

"How will you know which team I'm on?" George challenged with a glint in his eye.

"Like this," Bill said, flicking his wand at his brother, effectively turning him blue. Mrs. Weasley was not impressed, but kept her scolding to a minimum before resuming her conversation with Lily and Keena.

"Alright, you lot, according to this we need a team of one beater, one chaser, one keeper, one seeker and a catcher. We already know who the beaters are," Hermione said, after consulting a book on Quidditch Lily had found in the Potter's library. "Who are the seekers?" Harry and James raised their hands.

"That'll be interesting," I observed with a grin and switching a glance with Ginny who grinned in agreement.

"Yes, now who are the chasers?" Sirius and Bill raised their hands this time. "Right, now what about keepers?" Ron and Mr. Weasley claimed their positions quickly. "And that leaves Charlie and Remus as catchers," she said, writing it all down on a little notepad before drawing a t-chart for score-keeping.

"Ready?" I asked her as she bit her lip in concentration. "You don't need a straight line," I teased.

"And your point is what exactly?" she answered with a grin.

"Alright, men, mount your brooms," Ginny ordered, lifting the latch on the box of Quidditch balls and releasing a bludger and taking out the quaffle and snitch, holding the golden ball tightly.

"Don't play too dirty," Keena scolded from her seat on the deck, noticing how Sirius was posed on his broom.

"And they're off!" I called in imitation of Lee Jordan as Ginny launched the quaffle into the air. "It's Sirius with the quaffle, zooming down the…air!" Keena laughed but the others looked at me with faces of confusion. "And he's smacked in the back of the head with the hand of Charlie and Bill takes the quaffle!"

"Isn't that a foul?" Hermione asked bewildered as Ginny laughed.

"I said I'd allow Harry's team to unabashedly cheat," she answered with a grin.

"Now it's Bill versus Mr. Weasley for the throw and…wait, what're they using for goals?" I asked and everyone paused mid-air, including Fred who had been about to smack a bludger at Sirius as he chased after Bill.

"Oh," James answered after a moment. "Lily? Can you go and get the goals?"

"If I knew where they were I would," she answered.

"Keena? Please?" he tried again.

Approximately ten minutes later the game resumed.

"Now it's ten-nil to the…um…team names please?" I called up to the air.

"The Laughing Dragon Curse Breakers!" Fred called to the ground.

"…um…right," Hermione muttered, scribbling it over Fred, Bill, Charlie, Harry and Ron's names.

"The other team's name is what then?" Ginny asked as Bill scored another goal.

"The Old Men," Charlie answered with a smirk.

"Hey!" George called.

"The Old Men plus One!" Bill revised.

Suddenly Remus began plummeting towards the earth, Charlie hot on his tail. James and Harry noticed and began racing towards them. Remus, being so much closer to it, caught the snitch and made to race for James but Charlie intercepted him and knocked the golden ball out of his hand.

"Is that a foul?" Hermione asked as we watched.

"No," Ginny answered. "That's what the catchers are supposed to do when their opponent catches the snitch first; otherwise they carry it to their seeker,"

"But I've never seen that at Hogwarts," I murmured. The eighth player's position had always confused me, especially as it hadn't been included in my 'source'. "Have they always been there for that?"

"Yeah, but they can also act as a back-up chaser or keeper if need be," Ginny replied. "The seekers are normally too good at what they do to need the catcher's help but it is legal,"

The fight over the snitch continued to the point where Fred and George were aimlessly batting the bludger toward the two catchers in attempt to keep James and Harry from ending the game, resulting in the Potters to circle above, waiting for the snitch to be released.

Suddenly Charlie broke free of the fight and made a beeline for Harry, stuffing the snitch into his hands. The Laughing Dragon Curse Breakers all cheered loudly and the rest of us applauded.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

After the Quidditch match the kids stayed outside for a while before Lily called them in for dinner followed by desert. We sang loudly, albeit off key, and Harry beamed in excitement at the head of the seldom used dining room table.

"How did you know this was my favorite flavor?" Harry asked when he took a bite out of the cake.

"Kailey fished the information out," Lily informed him with a wink.

"Why didn't you just ask me?" Harry wondered, though I noticed the small blush on his cheeks.

"Your mum has a bit of trouble with those kinds of secrets," James informed him and Lily stuck her tongue out at him causing the rest of the table to laugh.

"So what have you been up to this summer?" I asked the table in general to save James a loss of limb, or bit of pride if he said something to make Lily hex him.

"Not incredibly much, though Charlie has had a bit of a job," Arthur answered with a nod towards his second eldest who nodded in confirmation.

"Won't say a word of it either," Ron muttered to Harry and Kailey. "Even Hermione can't figure it out,"

"I already told you, Ron, there is no possible way for me to figure this out," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. Kailey smirked but said nothing before her face fell.

"Something wrong with your cake?" Fred asked, noticing her suddenly somber look.

"Just that if Hermione can't guess I probably can't either," she answered with a shrug before grinning again. I say answered, I should say lied because that look didn't leave her eyes, though I'm not certain anyone else noticed. I made a mental note to remember that something was wrong.

"Alright, Harry, ready for your gift?" James asked with an excited grin.

"Gift?" Harry asked in confusion.

"It's your birthday, Harry, that's why everyone is here," Sirius informed him.

"It's a very large gift," Remus added. "We all chipped in a bit," he said motioning to myself, Sirius, and his parents as well as the Weasley parents.

"Okay," Harry answered, looking curious beyond belief. Lily and I traded a grin as she handed him a very large envelope. Harry took it and frowned in curiosity before carefully opening the top.

He took out the contents and counted them, his eyes going so wide I thought they'd pop out. "You got seventeen tickets to the Quidditch World Cup?" he gasped out.

The entire room, except for those involved with the gift, burst out into excited and shocked chatter and it took several loud bangs from Molly's wand to quiet them.

"This is too much," Harry finally said.

"No it'd be too much if we had gotten better seats," Sirius answered.

Harry frowned and looked at the tickets again. "These say that they're in the top box?"

"What better seats are possible?" Ron asked his eyes bugging out of his head.

"Oh…I guess you're right then, give them back," James said, holding his hand open for Harry to hand over the tickets.

"No way!" all of the Quidditch players shouted in unison.

"That's what I thought," Remus muttered swapping a grin with James and Sirius.

"So those are enough tickets for…all of us, Percy included," Hermione said slowly. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter—"

"James and Lily, dear," Lily corrected after wincing at the title.

"Oh, sorry," Hermione apologized. "Um…how are you going to go?"

"Very well done concealment charms," I answered.

"How well done?" Kailey interrogated suddenly, seeming defensive.

"Well, considering three of us used to be Unspeakables and three of us Aurors and then we're friends with Bill here who is a Curse-Breaker, I'd say extremely well done," I answered after a moment. "No one would suspect anything in any case." She didn't look overly convinced but let it slide.

"This is brilliant," Harry decided. "Thank you all so much," he beamed.

"Your welcome," everybody chimed in along with "happy birthday" and his grin grew wider.

Finally, after fourteen years, Harry Potter had had a happy birthday.

**So ends chapter two! I hope everyone has enjoyed these first two of this story and I hope you continue to read as I continue to post! Don't forget to review/ask questions if confused! I'll be happy to answer anything in the next chapter! Don't forget to look for chapter 3!**

**:-D **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Plan

**Not mine.**

**Thanks so much for the reviews on the first two chapters! Enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I woke up early two nights before the Quidditch World Cup to the sound of a knock on my door. I say night, I should say early morning because when I looked at my clock it didn't even read four a.m. I groaned and stretched before standing up and plodding over to the door to see what the problem was.

I was faced with a nervous looking Harry who looked as though he had a slight headache. Then it hit me. "Bad dream?" I asked, moving aside to let him in before closing the door.

"Very," he answered, sitting in the chair by the desk while I took up a seat on the bed. "You know about it then?" he frowned when I nodded and sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't've known,"

"Why not?" I wondered, not bothering to suppress a yawn.

"Because it means that something is actually wrong," he answered sadly. "Was it just a dream or was it real?" he asked quietly after a moment. I eyed him for a moment debating whether or not to say. Saying no was a lie while confirming the reality meant that Harry had witnessed the first death of the second war and I wasn't too sure about how he would take that.

"In all technicality, it was a dream," I answered evenly. "But what you saw…that did happen," his face fell but he nodded.

"Did that man…have a family?"

"No, not to my knowledge," I answered and he seemed a little comforted by this news. "I'm sorry, Harry, I should have told Dumbledore," I muttered, looking away in guilt.

"It's not your fault, a lot has been going on lately and it isn't as if you meant to forget," he assured me quickly. "But what about my scar hurting? What does that mean?"

I shrugged, yawning again and leaning against the head board. "I don't think that's something I should explain to you, ask me again after you've spoken to your parents, godparents, Remus or Dumbledore. If none of them tell you then I will," I added when he gave me a doubtful look.

"Alright," he said, standing up. "Sorry to wake you," he added as he stopped at the door.

I just waved it off. "Whenever," I answered. He nodded and left the room while I returned to sleep.

_Suddenly I was in a dark field, breathing heavily. I could feel cool beads of sweat dripping down my neck as I looked next to me I saw Harry tied to a large stone, an expression of pure horror on his face. I stood up, shakily, and hurried over to him, taking the gag from his mouth. _

_"How could you forget me?" he shouted when suddenly his features shifted into an old man. He was no longer tied up, but was leaning on a cane for support. His stare was wild and I took a step away from him in shock, nearly falling over. _

_"How could you forget me?" another voice shouted and suddenly there was a woman standing next to the old man._

_"How could you think she would remember you two? She didn't even remember her own parents." A different voice, a cruel voice cackled. I turned to face a green light and I screamed…_

"Kailey!" I jerked out of the nightmare, panting in fear. Lily's worried expression finally came into view and I sighed in relief upon registering that I was no longer in the Little Hangleton graveyard. "Oh, thank Merlin," she breathed, moving some of my hair away from my face. "You've been screaming for at least two minutes, we thought you were in pain again,"

I opened my mouth to ask a question only to find my throat was choked up with tears. "I—they, they blame me!" I sobbed into her, shivering.

"Who blames you, dear?" she asked, rubbing circles into my back.

"They all do! I've forgotten them!" I continued sobbing and Lily's confusion seemed to double. "I can't believe I've forgotten them," I whispered after I had calmed down.

"Kailey!" I looked up at the sound of my father's voice as he rushed into the room closely followed by Sirius, Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledore. "Are you alright? Where does it hurt?" he interrogated worriedly, something that still seemed strange coming from Snape.

"She's fine, Severus," Lily said, still hugging me. "She's had a nightmare is all,"

Snape deflated immediately. By deflated I mean to say he returned to his straight backed, rigid stance that he normally walked around with. Pomfrey heaved a sigh of relief herself and nodded to the headmaster before heading back towards the stairs, presumably to return to Hogwarts.

"I'll just let the others know," Sirius said, giving a nod to the headmaster as well before going off to find the remaining members of the household, closing the door behind him.

"Kailey, what was it that had you so frightened?" Dumbledore asked his blue eyes full of not only pity, but curiosity. My guilt doubled at the sight of his twinkling eyes.

"I've forgotten two of them, sir," I answered, hiding my face in Lily's arms, my voice void of any emotion other than regret. "They must have decided to remind me,"

"Who has reminded you?" Snape asked, frowning in confusion.

"Bertha Jorkins and a muggle man named Frank," I answered, tears spilling out once more.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

She had finally stopped screaming about ten seconds after Sirius had gone through the floo. James and I exchanged glances while Remus continued pacing after a short pause. Harry stayed on the couch, though he was now looking up at the ceiling as though he could tell what was going on from staring at the paint. Moments later, Sirius came into the room, looking far more relieved than when he had decided to fetch Snape and the headmaster.

"She's fine, it was just a nightmare," he said and Remus finally stopped his pacing.

"Are you sure it was only a dream?" Harry asked, sitting up straighter. His voice shook a bit but he looked sure of himself.

"As far as I know," Sirius answered. "Why do you ask?"

Harry looked to the ground. "It's just…I had a—a nightmare last night too, only I don't reckon that's all it was," he paused to take a deep breath. "It made my scar hurt so I went and woke Kailey up to see if she maybe knew about the dream and she did…She said that it did happen…it wasn't only a dream."

"Harry," James said, glancing at me in a peculiar way. "Did anybody…get hurt in this dream of yours?"

Harry gulped and nodded. "He…well he's dead,"

James nodded, reaching out and gripping Harry's shoulder, and exchanged a look with Remus and Sirius before all of their eyes flickered to me for a second. "Then I think we know the problem," Remus said quietly, glancing at me again. I frowned.

"Is that why the three of you keep looking at me like that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She's feeling guilty for knowing," James explained and I closed my eyes in understanding. "You think?"

I took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. "Yeah,"

"So it's starting then…isn't it?" Harry said, looking between all of us. No one answered him.

Snape and Dumbledore left just after a quick breakfast and Lily sent Harry and Kailey outside in an attempt for them to distract one another from the previous night. Kailey made no comment when someone suggested that they fly around before lunch.

"There has to be something that we can do to help protect them," Sirius decided, taking Remus' former position pacing in the living room.

"Like what, Padfoot?" James asked, glaring at the carpet in frustration.

"That's it!" Sirius shouted, causing Lily to jump.

"No, Sirius," Remus said immediately, shaking his head. "It isn't legal,"

"What isn't legal?" I asked, looking between the two of them before it clicked. "You want to make them into animagi?" He nodded and Lily immediately shook her head.

"They're too young,"

"We were in third year when we started," James argued. "I think it's a good idea,"

"James!"

"What? It's good camouflage,"

"Unless he's a stag," Remus stated. "And we should see if Kailey can even do it first,"

"Even so," I said evenly. "They've got adults who can help them do it this time,"

"Yeah! I'd bet we could finish before the summer ends," Sirius said enthusiastically. "Well, the actual transformations could take forever but…"

"No! I am not having my son do that, nor will I allow Kailey to," Lily said, shaking her head in impatience.

"C'mon, love, it'll take their minds off of things before they go back to Hogwarts," James begged.

"Please?" Sirius and I said in unison before he transformed and gave her big puppy-dog eyes.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View:_

"First out, then in, what is next?" I muttered as I landed, carefully, onto the ground.

"I dunno, maybe they decided to have lunch early," Harry answered, despite the fact I hadn't intended for him to hear me, let alone answer.

"Very early, it's only eleven," I informed him after I glanced at my watch. He simply shrugged as we headed over to the broom shed to lock away the brooms. Harry had decided that I was in need of lessons on flying so that I would be able to 'have fun' the next time I went up in the air. I had agreed to just because after spending so much time in the wizarding world it was probably best if I actually learned what I was doing in the air now that fear was no longer an acceptable excuse.

We entered the living room to find three of the Marauders looking excited, one looking as though he couldn't roll his eyes enough and the last and latest edition to the group looking frustrated. Harry and I exchanged glances, and if the look on his face was anything to go by, then I could safely say that he was wondering what was going on as much as I was.

"Welcome, lady and gentleman, to your very first animagus training session," Sirius said grandly and he and James bowed low.

"Really?" Harry asked his voice full of awe. I only grinned.

"Yes, but you must promise me that you will do everything just as we explain it to you," Lily answered, throwing a nasty look at James, Sirius and Keena, all who looked as though they were incredibly hyper eleven-year-olds beholding their first look into the Great Hall.

"Of course," we both agreed immediately.

"Before we begin, Kailey, we want to see if you can still do the transformation, just so we know how much potion to brew," Remus said before James and Sirius could open their mouths once more. I nodded in agreement, not knowing what would happen were I to take the potion twice.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, willing myself into my animagus form, a black wolf with white-tipped ears and tail. I opened my eyes to find myself standing on four legs and looking up at the rest of the room.

"Well, then, I'll start brewing," Lily said, sounding disgruntled as she left to go and make a solitary batch.

"We never did give you a nickname," Sirius said, pacing for a moment before waving it off. "Change back, we'll come up with something later,"

"Wait, does that mean that Keena can't transform?" James asked, frowning. We looked to Keena who shrugged.

"Why shouldn't I be able?" she asked.

"I suppose you should just humor him for the moment," Lily said, she clearly was not happy about allowing Harry to learn how to become an animagus.

Keena shrugged again and stood still for a moment with her eyes closed. Nothing happened. She opened her eyes and frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means that Harry will not be going through this process alone," Remus answered, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat thoughtfully. "D'you suppose it could be because she has a new body and the magic somehow failed to transfer?" he asked Lily who frowned in thought for a moment before nodding.

"Lovely," Keena said sarcastically. "What else do you suppose I can't do?"

"That's probably it," Lily answered. "Animagus transformations and what they entail is magic that is performed on you, that is to say on your body, and wouldn't transfer, but the magic that you have learned over the years is stuff that you perform and perfect to the point that each new spell is often better than the last. Your magic hasn't changed, just your body,"

Sirius coughed something that I couldn't quite make out but the entire room opted to ignore it, no one probably wanted to acknowledge what he'd said if they had heard.

"So what do we have to do then?" Harry asked, anxious to begin.

"There are a number of spells we'll have to perform, but those'll only take a minute or so after you learn the proper and precise pronunciations," Keena answered, flipping through a book titled _The Arte of Human Transfiguration. _"Then we'll drink the potion that Lily is about to start and voila!"

"Well, almost voila," James amended at Harry's grin. "The actual transformation can take months to figure out and you've really got to focus in order to get it right,"

"How long did it take you?" he asked, looking between Sirius and James.

"Months," Keena answered as though it had been torturously annoying and she did not sound the least bit happy to have to do it all over again.

"But then your mother only took a few seconds," Sirius added at Harry's slightly horrified expression. Keena rolled her eyes but Harry didn't notice which was probably best.

Lily finished creating the potion in another hour, though it would have to stew on the fire for a couple of days before she could add the final ingredient. In the meantime James, Sirius and Keena helped Harry to practice the spells he would need to use before he drank the potion. Remus and I had gotten bored of just watching and had played several rounds of chess where I only won two or three of the games.

"Do you ever get tired of winning these things?" I asked in frustration as I flicked my king over. The stupid piece was hopping between two spaces and it was annoying me.

"When I do get tired of it, I let you win," Remus answered with a smirk.

Suddenly there was a sound like a tire squealing on pavement and the entire room flared bright fuchsia. Before I could react, Remus had a shield around the two of us while we waited for the amber smoke to clear off.

"What the bloody hell happened?" I asked in a muted whisper.

"Apparently Harry needs a bit more practice enunciating one of the incantations," Remus answered as the last of the smoke dissipated, leaving the once off-white and cream colored living room a rusty looking red.

Across the room we could see Harry, James and Sirius all underneath a shield that was emitting from Keena's wand. Somehow, unfortunately, half of her body had not made it under the shield and she was now partially red.

"Lily is going to be quite…upset," Remus observed, lowering the shield.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I kept my left eye and my mouth squeezed shut, praying that the fumes were not in any way toxic. James tapped me on the shoulder and told me to lower the shield and I did so, carefully, before opening my eye and looking to see what the damage was. I growled in frustration.

"I am so sorry, Keena," Harry began apologizing quickly, sensing my anger.

"Sh," I ordered, not wanting to yell at him. We had told him that if he mispronounced even the littlest syllable that something like this could happen. I was less than impressed. "Remus, come with me please," I said instead of turning on Harry.

Remus and I made our way to the basement just as Lily was coming up the stairs. She half-shrieked at my appearance and turned to follow us so that we could attempt to return me to my normal coloring.

"What in Merlin's name happened?" Lily questioned, throwing up shields around the potion before turning to face us.

"A mispronunciation," I growled. "I am less than pleased considering the last time this sort of thing occurred I was left with blue hair. Blue hair that Kailey still has!" I was yelling now.

"Alright, calm down, we'll fix it," Remus said reassuringly. "Even if it does match your new eyes perfectly," he added with a wicked glint. I honored him with no reply.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View:_

The moment the basement door shut, Sirius and James burst out laughing, high fiving one another in what appeared to be congratulations.

"What did you two do?" I frowned, sensing that this hadn't been an accident.

"We only just pulled the greatest prank ever," Sirius announced, grinning at the look on Harry's face.

"You did that?" he asked, sounding somewhere between annoyed and very impressed.

"That we did," James answered with a bow. "She is going to be so angry when it doesn't come off," he added, though this set Sirius off in laughter again.

"So it does come off, then?" I asked, folding my arms and raising an eyebrow at the overgrown teenagers.

"After twenty-four hours, she'll be the proper shades again." Sirius confirmed.

"The spell is set so that anything the gas touches will have its red pigments magnified to the point that the objects appear red. In a couple of hours, we'll start to see her change back to normal," James finished.

"Okay, but what about the bright light?"

"That was Harry," James said, sobering himself and fixing Harry with a stare. "What did we just tell you about enunciating?"

"Sorry, maybe I should just stick to learning the incantations for now?" Harry answered, though he was obviously relieved that he had not turned his godmother into half a chameleon.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I hexed Sirius and James the moment I discovered Harry's innocence and apologized to Harry for my anger as well. When the two buffoons begged me to turn them back to normal I replied that it would have to wait until the living room and myself were no longer even the slightest bit off color. Remus had remarked that the living room was always 'off color' because it was mostly 'off-white'. He too had been hexed accordingly.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty!" Lily called into my room, throwing the shades up. No sun entered through the windows.

"Gimme a couple more hours," I moaned stuffing my head under the covers.

"No, Kailey, you need to help Keena and I wake the boys up. We need to leave soon or we'll miss the portkey," Lily explained, yanking the covers off. "Now, up and dressed, we only have an hour before we have to leave and that's at latest."

I growled something that even I didn't understand but got out of the bed in any case, stumbling towards the bathroom and studiously keeping my eyes away from any clocks or my watch; knowing the time would probably put me back to sleep.

Almost twenty minutes later I met Keena and Lily in the kitchen so that we could play our prank. Once it was explained to me I no longer blamed Lily for waking me up so early. Finally I would be able to get back at them for dumping water over my head at the beginning of the summer.

We gathered our bags and stepped out into the cool morning air while Keena and Lily performed quick little spells to make everything look as though it had been used for several nights instead of being brand new and clean. We waited five minutes before Keena touched her wand to her watch and muttered a soft incantation. There was a sudden ringing inside of the house coming from each of the occupied bedrooms and we grinned. The ringing would last until they had all gotten out of bed and downstairs. After two minutes of silence we could hear voices on the other side of the door. That was our cue.

"That was the most amazing match I've ever seen!" I exclaimed loudly. The voices on the other side of the door paused in what seemed to be shock.

"I know! I simply can't believe how that all turned out," Keena agreed, shifting her bags, clanging a couple pots together before opening the door.

"A real pity the boys wouldn't wake up, I guess that sleeping draught we made was too st—oh," Lily stopped mid-sentence to see a group of furious male marauders.

"We missed the match," James stated quietly and rather maliciously if truth be told.

The three of us exchanged guilty looks before Keena nodded. Sirius and James whipped their wands out in less than a flash but Keena and Lily had been prepared and lifted up shields before we burst out laughing.

"How is any of this bloody mess funny?" Sirius fumed, almost growling.

"Because you haven't missed anything," Keena grinned.

Harry let out a sigh of relief and that set us off laughing again. "It's not funny," he claimed, though he was grinning now.

"It really is, you should've seen your faces," I laughed.

"Well, now that this is over with, you four had best go and get ready, the portkey leaves in twenty minutes and James and I need to have glamours put on," Lily commanded. James and Sirius saluted while Remus shook his head, grinning, and Harry turned on his heal and raced back up to his room.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"I don't know if I like the idea of giving her blonde hair," I said, tilting my head as I gazed at a honey blonde Lily. Her eyes we had already turned dull brown and we had made her face rounder but we couldn't pick a natural looking hair color to match the paler skin we had given her along with several splotches of freckles on her nose.

"For Merlin's sake, Keena, we don't have time to play make-over let's just leave already," Sirius whined. I silenced him with a look.

"I agree with Keena," Lily said, looking herself over in a mirror. "Why don't you give me brown hair?"

I nodded and flicked my wand and Lily's hair shifted to deep chocolate brown. Another flick and she was much less pale. I nodded to myself, satisfied. "Now, Lily your name is going to be—"

"Violet," Sirius interrupted before sniggering.

"What about Rose?" James suggested.

"She could always go with Petunia," Remus snickered while Lily fixed him with a glare. "What? No one who knew you would suspect it, we all knew you hated your sister after school,"

"Which is why I won't be called Petunia," she snarled, silencing the boys' laughter.

"And it's also why her name is going to be Tulip," I stated. They all stared at me and I grinned. "Just kidding, I've actually got no idea,"

"Well, what was your mum's name?" Harry asked. "Or even better, her middle name," he suggested. Lily thought for a moment before nodding.

"Libby will work just fine, brilliant idea, Harry," Lily grinned.

"Alright, now James," I said, turning to face my brother. "We can stick with Johnny Patterson, yeah?" I suggested and James nodded as I turned his hair bright blonde, his eyes clear blue and made his face more angular.

"Johnny and Libby Patterson," Sirius said, thinking carefully. "What's their connection to us?"

"They are my cousins," Remus stated. "On my mother's side. Let's say they just decided for themselves that my being a werewolf is no reason for them to stay away from me,"

"But we all know the real reason is because you have a connection with Harry Potter," Sirius added and Remus nodded.

"And we have no children because I wouldn't give up my figure," Lily finished. "And Johnny likes to travel."

"Great, now I think we're good to go," I grinned, gesturing towards the door. "Let's hurry up or that portkey will leave with four less than it should,"

James locked the door behind him and we walked out of the wards so that Sirius and I could apparate with Kailey and Harry to Stoatshead Hill to meet the Weasleys and Hermione. The other three would go straight to the campsite so that they could begin setting up the tents that the Weasley's had dropped off at Harry's party.

"See you later," James waved before we apparated away.

Kailey clung to my arm as though it were a lifeline before we landed at the base of a hill, our bags banging together on the landing. Sirius and Harry landed a few feet away from us, though they almost ended up squishing two men who jumped out of the way at the last second.

"Sorry about that," Sirius said, containing his laughter while helping one of the men up. Harry was holding his head and Kailey was helping him back to his feet.

"Not a problem, although I expect that's why you apparated to a portkey then, eh?" the older one said, slapping his son on the back. "Name's Amos Diggory, this is my son, Cedric," he added proudly as I went over to stand next to Sirius.

"Sirius Black and this is my fiancée, Keena," he said, wrapping an arm around my waist and grinning. That was the first time he had been able to introduce me to anyone since our engagement and I could tell he was thrilled. "And this is our godson, Harry Potter and his friend, Kailey Snape,"

Amos looked as though he couldn't take it all in at once as his eyes bugged over his small glasses. "Well, I'll be...I didn't even recognize you, either of you," he said gesturing to Sirius and me. "Well, congratulations, and Ced talks about Harry at times," he explained as we began climbing up the hill. "Especially about that Quidditch match," his eyes lit up while Cedric seemed to want to run and duck for cover judging by the look on his face.

"Dad, please—"

"I told him, Ced, my boy, that'll be a story for the grandkids," Amos continued happily.

"Yes, dementors on the Quidditch pitch and with Dumbledore there too? Simply astounding," I cut in, shaking my head. "Personally, I'm impressed that Gryffindor was able to come back from the loss,"

Cedric let out a sigh of relief as Amos looked slightly confused, though he said nothing more. Sirius had stiffened at the mention of dementors but was hiding it well and Harry had become very interested in the grass that was growing on the hill.

"Let's find the portkey, we've only got a couple of minutes left," Kailey suggested as we reached the summit.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View:_

We split off into groups of three with Sirius, Keena and Mr. Diggory searching one side of the hill and Cedric, Harry and I searching the other.

"I don't know how many times I told him about those dementors," Cedric muttered apologetically, shaking his head.

"He's just proud of you for doing well," I shrugged, shooting a look at Harry as he nodded silently. I suppose that game was still a sore spot for him.

"Well, as far as I'm concerned that match shouldn't've counted, it was unfair," Cedric pursued.

"I guess we'll just have to have a rematch sometime then," Harry grinned. "Deal?" he asked, extending his hand to Cedric who took it with a grin of his own.

"Deal,"

I bit my lip, a sudden swirling feeling enveloping my stomach as I realized that their rematch might never take place and that whether or not it did all depended on me. Tears began prickling at my eyes as visions of Frank and Bertha's angry faces popped into my head.

"Are you alright, Kailey?" Cedric asked, looking past Harry, who was standing between the two of us. I just nodded.

"Something just flew into my eye is all," I muttered, rubbing them furiously.

"Kids! We've got the portkey!" Sirius yelled from the other side of the hilltop.

The three of us made our way over to them and we stood there, checking our watches, making small talk about what the match would be like. We were just wondering where the Weasley's were when I spotted a red head coming over the summit.

"They're here," I grinned, pointing as Hermione all but collapsed onto the ground.

"Good thing too, they've only got a minute or so to spare," Keena said, checking her watch.

"Arthur! Over here!" Sirius yelled, waving at them and the five redheads and Hermione made their way over and Harry, Ron, Hermione and I all began chattering about waking up in the morning before the sun does.

"I'll have to tell you two about the prank we pulled over the boys," I grinned while Harry glared at me. Hermione gave a small giggle and Ron raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"It was not funny," he stated. "I thought you were serious,"

"How could she be Sirius when I am?" Sirius asked. Keena promptly flicked him in the head, though everyone had laughed who had heard.

"Everyone gather round, it'll go off in a moment," Mr. Diggory called, holding the old boot out for everyone to touch. "Five, four, three, two, one,"

It felt as though someone had grabbed a hold of my insides and was pulling them up through a vortex or something. I clamped my eyes shut as greens, grays and blues swirled all around us. It stopped suddenly and I knocked into Harry who fell into Ron and Hermione who hit George who knocked over Ginny who collided into Fred whom I'm fairly certain pulled Cedric down to the ground with him on purpose.

They all looked over at me and I gave a guilty smile. "Oops?"

The Weasleys, Potters, Sirius, Hermione and I made our way to our lot fairly quickly to find Remus and James arguing over where one of the stakes was supposed to go with Lily sitting on the ground, sleeves rolled up, glaring at the instructions and shaking her head every few moments.

"Remus, I'm telling you, this stake is the one that belongs in the ground,"

"No, Johnny, that one goes with the rain cover," Remus was saying as we gathered near.

"Would the two of you stop bickering? It's annoying," Lily snapped. "Honestly, it isn't as though we won't end up using magic in the end in any case," she muttered, causing both Remus and James to roll their eyes at her before they all three noticed us.

"Good morning, Arthur," Remus said, coming over and clasping hands with Mr. Weasley briefly. "Had a good portkey?"

"Remus, is there such a thing?" Mr. Weasley laughed.

Remus shook his head before speaking again. "Well, this is my cousin, Libby Patterson and her husband, Johnny," he said, gesturing to Lily and James who both waved good-naturedly before resuming their argument. "We're having a bit of an issue with the tents,"

"So much for being Unspeakables and Aurors," Sirius sniggered quietly causing the rest of us to laugh and the three in question to glare at him.

"By all means, Sirius, why don't you give it a go?" Lily challenged, holding up the instructions. "No magic, of course,"

Sirius scoffed, looking over at a neighboring tent which had a fountain and garden blooming from the side of what looked more like a house. "Right, none at all,"

"I'll start the fire, then," Mr. Weasley grinned, pulling out a box of old matches. "Now, how do I turn it on?"

Hermione and I exchanged a quick look before moving to help him.

It ended up taking all seven boys to set up the three tents while Hermione, Lily, Keena and I helped Mr. Weasley learn how to safely use a match which was an adventure in itself.

"So, I hold it here?" he asked, holding the end of the match that would burn first.

"No, Mr. Weasley, on the other end," Hermione corrected, showing him how she was holding hers.

"Right, now I just strike it this way," he pulled the match toward himself and Lily quickly blew the flame out.

"Arthur, you're going to burn yourself like that," she reprimanded. "Always away from yourself, like this," she lit another match and Mr. Weasley beamed.

"Fascinating, and all three of you grew up like this?" He was so enthralled with the thought of making fire without magic and it was kind of funny in a way.

"Well, some people use flamethrowers," I added.

"But those are far too complex," Keena said quickly. "Much more dangerous," she muttered once Mr. Weasley looked away.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," I agreed. "He'd singe his eyebrows or something," I added and Keena's lips twitched.

The tents were finally set up and the fire was started, despite Mr. Weasley having used just under half the box of matches to do so. We all gathered around the fire for a few moments to rest (putting up the tent seemed to be more effort than it was worth) before standing to put our things inside.

"Now, the tent on the left is for the boys, since there are so many more of them," Lily said, addressing the four who were present at the moment since Percy, Bill and Charlie had not arrived yet. "The tent in the center here is for the adults since it is the next largest and this one on the left is for you three," she said to Hermione, myself and Ginny.

We nodded and decided to take a look at our smaller tent. I couldn't help but give a gasp as I entered. You would not be able to tell how small of a tent it actually was from the outside and I could only imagine at what the other two tents must've looked like. There was no kitchen inside of this tent though there was a trio of four-poster beds without the canopies and curtains that I associated with the Hogwarts beds. There was also a small door which led to a bathroom when we inspected it.

"This is amazing!" I stated as I placed my bag onto a bed.

"Haven't you ever been inside a tent before?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, but not like this," I said. "This is just so cool,"

"Tents in the muggle world don't have beds or bathrooms. Actually, all there is an empty space, really," Hermione explained and Ginny let out a low whistle.

"But then where do they cook food or use the loo?" Ginny asked in confusion, looking between Hermione and myself.

"They cook on fires or outdoor grilles and use outhouses," I answered.

"Strange," she remarked, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't know how they could survive in the outdoors without any magic at all," she laughed.

I shrugged. "It's not so bad; really, we used to go camping all the time before I came to Hogwarts,"

We left our things inside and returned to the fire to see that the others had already returned from exploring their own tents. Harry looked impressed though the others didn't look as though they had really seen anything special.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione and Kailey, why don't you lot go and fetch us some water?" Lily suggested. "That way we can have some tea ready for when Molly and the boys get here,"

"Those three shouldn't get a thing," Fred stated.

"They did absolutely nothing in the preparations of these tents," George agreed.

"And you two did nothing as far as starting this fire goes so does that mean you don't get to eat anything?" Lily asked, her eyebrow raised in question.

The twins turned to James and Sirius with looks of question on their faces.

"Don't look at us," Sirius said, raising his hands up in defense.

"Yeah, this is her being tame," James added with a smirk.

Lily promptly smacked both men upside the head at once.

On the way to the water pump we saw several things ranging from friends from Hogwarts to a group of wizards arguing over whether or not it was pronounced 'telefun' or 'funnytone'. Hermione and I refrained from looking at one another until we had completely passed the group before we burst out laughing. At the pump there was a line at the front of which was an old man wearing a flowery gown. I bit my lip as the argument escalated and had to turn around completely so I could laugh quietly at one point.

"For Merlin's sake, old man, just put on the trousers so we can get our water!" a blonde witch with brightly dyed bangs fumed from behind us. "Honestly, men are just ridiculous," She added to her strawberry-blonde daughter who looked a little embarrassed and, honestly, very familiar.

"Excuse me, but do I know you from school?" I asked the girl.

If anything, this made her blush harder as she nodded, though her mother looked curious. "My name is Alexis Dale; I'm going to be a third year Gryffindor,"

"Oh, so I know you from around the common room, then," I said, smiling. "I'm Kailey Snape; I'll be a fourth year,"

"Severus Snape's daughter?" Mrs. Dale asked. I nodded. "Oh, I went to school with him, long time ago, and I was a Gryffindor myself, along with Lexi Boot and Amanda Bell, here," she added, gesturing behind her with her thumb at a beach blonde woman and a brunette. "And I'm Nickie Dale,"

I smiled, "Well, this is Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter," I said, introducing them as they came back from getting the water. Alexis darted forward to dodge any more embarrassment from her mother to fill a bucket herself.

"Harry?" Mrs. Dale asked, her eyes widening. Harry grinned his stop-looking-at-me-cause-I'm-famous grin but she didn't seem to notice. "Oh my, you have grown so much! But you wouldn't remember me," she said laughing and shaking her head.

"Of course not, he was just a baby," The blonde woman said, coming to stand next to Mrs. Dale. "Goodness, well it's a good thing you've got your mum's eyes," she said, laughing a bit. "Otherwise I'd've lost the bet!"

We just looked at them, confused.

"They bet on who you would look more like, the night you were born," The brunette woman supplied. "Amanda Bell, I was friends with your mum," she added, giving her hand to Harry to shake.

"I've seen pictures of you," Harry said, his voice heavy with recognition. "From my parents' wedding, you were the maid of honor, right?"

Mrs. Bell laughed. "That was me, before I had DJ of course. The little devil that he is,"

"What did you expect, giving him a name like Damien James?" Mrs. Dale laughed in reply.

"I hope you don't mind, I named him partially for your father," Mrs. Bell suddenly sounded worried but Harry shook his head.

"Well where is that godmother of yours? She owes us a lot of explaining," Mrs. Boot suddenly sounded serious, her hands placed on her hips. "As does your godfather for that matter,"

"They're all back at the tent," Harry answered.

The three women followed us back, sending Alexis to fetch their husbands and the other children seeing as they all supposedly knew Keena and Remus well enough to call them 'Aunt' and 'Uncle'. We got back to the tents to find that Mrs. Weasley and the last three boys had arrived and food was being made on a large pan that was floating over the fire and Mr. Weasley was nursing what seemed to be a burnt finger. The other adults were joking with one another when they looked up and spotted our enlarged group.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View:_

I looked up and my jaw all but dropped when I saw how different Lexi, Nickie and Amanda all looked. Not old, but not as young as I remembered them. After a moment of staring, I leapt up from the ground and rushed at the three girls and we embraced in a loud, confusing hug.

"I can't believe it! You're all here," I cried happily, standing back to see them.

"You can't believe it? What about us? We haven't heard from you since before your little disappearing act!" Nickie accused, sounding much less hurt than I'd hoped for.

"You don't sound terribly angry," I said cautiously.

Lexi waved a hand at me. "We knew you'd end up with Sirius one way or another,"

"Speaking of which, where is he?" Amanda added, looking beyond me where Sirius and Remus were standing up.

"Present!" he bowed. "Did you miss me?" he asked just before he was tackled by all three at once.

"So this what my daughter rushed all the way back to the tents for? To tell me my wife was attacking my cousin?" I turned to see Orion standing and staring at his wife with a raised eyebrow. His flaming red hair stood out against the other two men standing beside him. Nickie turned and stuck her tongue out at her husband before tackling Remus in a hug.

"Auntie Keena?" I turned to face the sound of a small girl to see eleven-year-old Lizzie staring up at me. She had long brown hair and looked a bit like her mother, Lexi, and her older brother, Justin.

"Hey, sweetie," I said, holding out my arms for a hug and she and Alexis both rushed over. "What? You two boys too big for this sort of thing? Or are you intimidated by your scary housemates?" I asked Justin and DJ who stood looking torn between moving and standing still. They ended up walking over and giving me a brief hug each, acting the role of cool thirteen-year-olds.

"Oi! We're not scary!" Fred protested.

"Not at all," Ron rolled his eyes.

The seating around the fire pit was shifted a bit and proper introductions were made.

"Well, I'm Damien Bell, this is my wife Amanda and our son, DJ," he said, gesturing to them both. Damien was still quiet like I remembered him, as Amanda was to a degree, but I knew for a fact that DJ was quite the character, though he seemed reserved for the moment.

"You're Katie Bell's cousin, aren't you?" Hermione asked from out of the blue and DJ nodded in confirmation of the fact.

"I'm Jeremy Boot, my wife Lexi and our children, Justin and Lizzie," Jeremy and Lexi had always been more outgoing and adventurous, both of them Aurors before Lexi became part-time after Justin came onto the scene.

"And everyone knows me," Orion stated with a grin before Nickie gave him a smack on the arm. "Alright, I'm Orion Dale and this is my wife Nickie and our daughter, Alexis,"

"Wait, Dale? What happened to Black?" Sirius asked, confused. Dale was Nickie's surname. The couple looked away in embarrassment and Sirius nodded in understanding. "Didn't want the mark of the family name, eh? Maybe I'll take a page out of your book," he said, winking at me.

"No," Nickie gasped in shock. "You told the papers you wouldn't!"

"Things change," I said evenly, a sly grin playing over my face as I placed my left hand on top of my right.

Somebody whistled before the adults all laughed. The kids in general just looked confused. Amanda looked over at Harry, a small frown forming on her face as she noted that Harry was seated between a strange brunette woman and a blonde man.

"Oh, I don't believe…we've met," she said, her eyes looking back and forth between the three of them. Everyone else's attention quickly turned to them and it was all I could do from biting my lip and giving everything away.

"Oh, how rude of me," Remus said, shaking his head. "This is my cousin, Libby Patterson and her husband, Johnny,"

"The three of them have stayed with us the whole summer," Sirius added without hesitation.

"Remus I thought…never mind," Amanda said, dismissing the idea, though her smile was less than convincing. "So, who does everyone like for teams?"

The chatter picked back up and the kids (excepting the three oldest) moved off into their own area to pick up conversation on their own. Lily and James moved closer together, gripping one another's hands a bit more tightly than necessary, though Sirius and I had glued ourselves together as well. So much for hiding in plain sight.

**I am so sorry that this has taken so long! I really hope that it's long enough to make up for the long delay. I've finished work now so I'll be able to write more on the weekends. Not to peg it on excuses, but I've been having internet issues as well (couldn't even email it to a different computer to get it up sooner). Again, I'm so sorry and I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and next will be the Quidditch cup in chapter 4! **

**:-D **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Quidditch World Cup

**Ha, I wish it were mine. It's not. **

**Enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View:_

Venders began popping up everywhere as we began making our way to the pathway. They sold everything from pamphlets on the game to sparklers that lasted a full hour at minimum to candy and snacks and even Quidditch robes with numbers and names on the back. The Bulgarians were easily spotted with their team colors painted onto their faces, many sporting Viktor Krum merchandise. A fight broke out somewhere ahead of us between two men who seemed to speak different languages and were wearing opposite teams.

Harry had been noticed only once and Sirius had bought him a cap saying 'Ireland already has the gold' in gold lettering, a picture of a leprechaun zooming around the hat, effectively covering up his scar, though it also earned him some nasty looks from Bulgaria fans.

"Can't vait to votch your team lose!" a middle-aged man with a large bushy mustache jeered at Harry as we passed him by, throwing a crumpled up napkin at his head.

"Mind your own bloody business!" James shouted back, already heated from the drunken couple who had harassed his son, asking for autographs.

"And vat vill you do if I don't?" the man challenged coming closer and folding his beefy arms over his chest. His scent radiated off of him, filling my nostrils with firewhiskey, burning my throat. I swallowed a cough and moved closer to Harry.

Our large group paused, the men all standing up straighter, rallying behind James in silent support. A good number of people surrounding us paused as well, curious to see what had stopped the flow of traffic in the crowd. The other larger man's friends had paused as well, coming to stand closer to him in case anyone drew a wand.

"You won't even know what hit you," Sirius growled, looking menacing.

The man pondered on the fact for a moment, sizing up the group it seemed, his eyes starting the line with Mr. Dale and his flaming hair and moving down to Remus and his almost feral glare (full moon wasn't too far off) before his eyes rested on the blonde haired James once more. To be honest, I thought he was considering backing down.

"You are just scrawny English man," the beefy man quipped in broken English, slowly pulling out his wand, but James was faster and had disarmed the man before his wand was all the way out of his pocket. The man flew backwards into two of his friends as James caught the wand.

"Vat rights do you have to this?" another man asked, though he did not draw his wand. He looked frightened and was probably much more sober than his friend.

"He has every right to self-defense," Mr. Dale said, stepping forward and revealing his Auror badge. The other group looked surprised and backed away immediately. Though the large man was standing up, looking even more frustrated.

"I suggest you keep away from our family," Remus said, stepping between James and the others. "Enjoy the cup," he added.

"C'mon, you lot, let's move along," Mrs. Weasley said, ushering the younger kids through the crowd first. Lily came to stand next to Harry as we continued our way through to keep him walking as he continued looking over his shoulder at his father and godfather.

"Why hasn't he given the wand back?" Harry asked to no one in particular.

"He just wants to make certain that none of you are around for that man to target; I suspect he has already had a drink or too of firewhiskey," Lily answered stiffly.

"Your husband is very fast with his wand," Mrs. Bell noted, sounding curious.

"He's an ex-Auror," Lily answered shortly.

The men caught up with our group quickly and James came to stand next to Lily and reached over to put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, it was no big deal, really," Harry answered with a nod.

"No big deal?" James asked, frowning.

"Yeah, it wasn't half as bad as anything from second year,"

James' frown deepened, though he said nothing but exchanged a look with first Lily then Sirius who shrugged in reply.

"Well, if you're sure," James said with a nod before going over to walk with Remus and Sirius. Lily gave him a small smile before going over to talk with the other women.

"Did I say something?" Harry asked me and I shrugged in reply.

"They're probably bothered by how comfortable you are with harassment," Hermione answered, knowingly.

"Well it isn't as if that man meant something personal," Ron shrugged and Harry nodded in agreement.

"It's the principle of the thing, though," Hermione insisted. "No one wants to hear that sort of tone aimed at…at someone," she finished, noticing how Lizzie was hanging on to her every word, her big blue eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Yeah, Harry, it's not every day someone gets ambushed by different annoying and drunk people," I said happily, causing Lizzie to giggle before she ran up ahead to be with Alexis and Ginny.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View:_

We finally reached the stadium, though we had to say goodbye to the others as they were sitting on the opposite side of the field. A wizard in deep purple looked at our tickets (enviously) before telling us to just go all the way to the top. Three flights of stairs later and Percy was wheezing with effort along with Mrs. Weasley and Remus.

"Why is there no way to get to the top?" Remus wondered aloud.

"Well, in the muggle world, we would probably take an elevator or escalator," Hermione informed him, earning a half glare from the cranky werewolf.

"Figures, muggles figured out this sort of thing ages ago," he muttered, shaking his head and resuming the climb.

"C'mon, Moony, be a man," Sirius challenged, hiding his own ragged breathing.

"Sirius Black, if you make another remark like that I will personally make certain that Severus Snape is informed of your deepest fear," Remus threatened.

Sirius stopped short, causing Kailey to walk into him and fall backwards into Harry who was caught by both twins and Charlie. "You wouldn't?"

Remus gave him a look and Sirius promptly shut his mouth.

We finally reached the top and were pleasantly surprised to find we were the first group to get there. The kids (as well as James and Sirius) made a dash for the front row seats before realizing there was enough room for all seventeen of us to be in the same row. Although it was worth it just to see the pile-up that was made up of Bill, Fred, Sirius, Harry and Ginny.

The box filled slowly and many people shook hands with Arthur as they spotted him on the end seat next to Molly.

"Arthur Weasley!" boomed a voice that I recognized from long ago. I turned to see Ludo Bagman shaking hands happily with Arthur, talking at a fast-paced rate. He was much heavier than he had been in school, or at least I assumed seeing as I had been blind while he was there, though I'd seen his face in the papers once or twice after the war had ended. He looked up and spotted me staring gave a little wave and then noticed Sirius sitting next to me and he made a beeline right over to us.

"Sirius Black, how are you?" he asked, taking Sirius' hand and shaking it far more than was necessary.

"I'm fine," Sirius answered, throwing his unused hand around my shoulders.

"Oh, but you mustn't remember me, eh? Ludo Bagman at your service,"

"Ludo! How could I forget?" Sirius answered, clearly not remembering Bagman at all. "Well, let me introduce, or reintroduce, my fiancée, Keena,"

"Hello, Ludo," I said, taking his hand with a smile.

"Well congratulations! Yes, you two are nearly as famous as your godson by now, I daresay. Speaking of young Harry, is he to be found?" he asked looking around to see Harry look up at the sound of his name. Bagman practically fell over himself to get to Harry and shake his hand as well, though they were far enough away that we couldn't hear what was being said, though it must have been the usual banter if the roll of Kailey and Hermione's eyes were anything to go by.

"Does that happen to Harry frequently?" Lily asked, leaning over James and Sirius.

"Yes, he is the Boy-Who-Lived after all," I answered, rolling my own eyes.

"Wonder what people will say when they learn it wasn't just the boy," Remus muttered from next to me.

"Judging by Amanda's reaction to hearing about your 'cousins', I'd say we'll find out soon," Sirius answered and Lily bit her lip.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," James stated to reassure his wife.

Lily nodded and turned to talk to Molly again for the moment while Sirius and I exchanged a look.

"Well, well, look at what we have here," I looked up and my face turned into a scowl as Lucius Malfoy and his family trailed into the top box. He looked up and down the row and stopped at Sirius. "Did you use up the family fortune to get these seats, Black? Or did you sell your house, Arthur? Of course that probably covered little more than two or three seats,"

Our entire row leaned forward to glare at Malfoy and his family.

"The Black Family Fortune was hardly touched, Malfoy, not that it matters to you seeing as you can't touch a Knut of it. How much did you give to the Ministry for the free seats in any case? Or did you just use the Imperious on the ticket collectors?" Sirius asked, standing to face Malfoy.

"How dare you speak to my husband like that, you filthy blood traitor!" Narcissa gasped, her sickly high voice matching the disgruntled look on her face.

"Hello, cousin, nice to see you too," Sirius said, bowing at her. "Bella says 'hello' by the way," he added with a wicked smirk.

Narcissa's face soured further and the three Malfoys headed for seats as far from our group as possible without further comment.

"Low blow, Sirius," I said, shaking my head. He just shrugged, giving me a kiss on the cheek as he sat back down.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

The twins had just finished making their bet with Bagman when the Malfoys came into the box. As soon as Sirius uttered the word 'cousin' we stopped listening to the conversation in confusion.

"Did he mean to say cousin?" Harry asked, turning to me. "I thought he was cousins with your mum," he added, turning the other way to face Ron and Ginny.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Ron answered with a shrug. "Half the pure-blooded wizards in Britain are related somehow, the Dales are our first cousins, actually,"

"Strange,"

"Sure does explain the look on her face though," I added. "That or she just got stuck that way somehow,"

Suddenly there was a sneeze from behind us. Hermione turned right around and said "Bless you," only to be greeted with a nervous "Thank you, miss,"

Winky was small and had large eyes and batty ears, reminding me of one of the Potter elves to be honest. But I only glanced at her for a moment. What truly caught my attention and held it was the empty seat beside her.

_He's literally sitting right there…so, so close to us…But what can I do…? Dumbledore made it very clear that Voldemort has to come back…I don't like this…he's much too close…much too close…I can't do this…I can't let him do this…but Dumbledore is never wrong…ever…oh, this is bad…what can I do? What do I do…? He's sitting right there…_

"Kailey? Are you alright?" Hermione's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to stare at her. "Kailey, what's wrong?"

I blinked, blanking on a response, when a sudden thought occurred to me.

_Did he notice I was watching him…? Does he think that I could know…?_

"Kailey, is something bad going to happen?" Harry's question was so quiet I would've missed it if he hadn't been sitting right next to me. I took a deep breath and relaxed my face into a smile.

"Nothing to worry about, I just forgot I left my cat with my dad for the summer," I answered fluidly, praying they let it drop despite my lame excuse.

Ron raised an eyebrow and shrugged while Hermione gave a huff and Harry shook his head after giving me a long look that clearly said I-am-not-dropping-this.

Lucky for me, however, Bagman chose that moment to begin the match, causing the crowd to all but explode with excitement. I suppose my best analogy would be the Olympic crowds on steroids. Magically enhanced steroids, that is.

"Now to introduce the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!" Bagman roared over the excited crowd.

"Better plug your ears!" I laughed looking at Ron and Harry who both stared back at me, confused.

The veela glided out onto the field. Their pale skin reflected off of the lights from the stadium and their long, flowing hair was somewhere between wavy and straight. Once they had all gathered onto the field a strange foreign music filled the air and they began to dance. Their motions were fluid and precise as they spun round and round in their flowing, gowns of what seemed like liquid gold.

I noticed Harry starting to stand up and grabbed a hold of his jacket, forcing him to sit back down without a second thought. He turned to glare at me before his face became void of any emotion as the music stopped.

"Why are you holding my jacket?" he asked, trying to hide a smirk.

"Why were you going to jump out of the box?" I replied easily, raising an eyebrow.

He ducked his head in embarrassment while Hermione and Ginny forcibly removed the Ireland hat from Ron's hands as he attempted to destroy it.

"And now, for your pleasure welcome the Ireland National Team Mascots!" Bagman crowed over the crowd's frustrations as the veela left the center of the field.

Bright green and gold lights zoomed out of every corner of the stadium, gathering to form a giant shamrock in the middle of the field. Once complete, it began rising steadily, an Irish folksong suddenly blaring from the center of it. The shamrock rose past us and began whirring around the stadium until it finally became a green and gold blur. Before long, it began raining leprechaun gold and the cheers of the crowd went wild as people who didn't know any better began stuffing the gold into their pockets.

"Bloody brilliant!" Ron cried, not realizing the gold would disappear within hours.

Hermione just shook her head, smiling and I laughed, picking up a piece of the gold myself. It had strange little symbols on it as well as a saying in Celtic, most likely a warning of some sort or maybe a rhyme that doubled as a trick.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team!" Bagman shouted to the screams of the stadium, listing off all of the players by name. A chant of 'Krum!' was screamed throughout the stadium as the burgundy blurs sped around the pitch, showing off their new Firebolts. "Now I give you the Irish National Quidditch Team!" Bagman cried out once the cheers for Krum had died down a bit. The three chasers of the Irish team were greeted with green sparks, shot off from fans all around the stadium. "And last, but certainly not least, I give you our Referee, all the way from Egypt, Hassan Mostafa!" The ref was small, most likely a seeker in his own Quidditch days, though he was dark, bald and sported an over-sized mustache.

The stadium suddenly went even crazier as the sixteen players circled around the field in midair before Mustafa went to join them, holding the Quaffle and a box which held the Snitch. He gave a short tweet on his whistle and each bludger was released from opposite ends of the stadium. Next, he held up the box containing the golden ball, high enough for the seekers and catchers to see it before it burst open and the Snitch fled into the sky. Finally, after giving each team a long look, Mustafa threw the final ball into the air, giving a long, loud blast from his whistle.

Green and burgundy blurred together as the Quaffle was fought over for a moment before a green blur emerged from the fray, shooting towards the other end of the field. The players moved at a speed I didn't think was humanly possible as they crossed the pitch in mere seconds, tossing the Quaffle between them as though it were feather light. Ireland scored moments after taking the Quaffle and again once they got it back before a bludger was slammed into the face of one of the chasers, though he was not holding the scarlet ball.

Mustafa trilled his whistle, and Bagman announced the penalty, which upped the score further for Ireland's favor. Moments later, in retaliation no doubt, an Irish beater pegged the Bulgarian beater who had struck his teammate. The penalty was called and Bulgaria managed to get the goal, bringing them closer to the game.

"Look at Krum!" Ron yelled suddenly, pointing to the diving player. "Look at him go!"

The rest of the stadium was echoing Ron's thoughts as the Irish seeker made a beeline for the ground as well. The two catchers circled above like hawks, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

"There's nothing there!" Harry shouted as the seekers dropped closer to the ground. "Look, the snitch isn't there!"

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, craning her neck to watch.

"Oh, he's going to crash!" Ginny cried, pointing at the Irishman as Krum suddenly pulled out of the dive.

The entire stadium winced as the crack of Lynch's nose meeting solid ground echoed over the noise. The whistle was blown and healer's suddenly crowded around Lynch, who looked as though he were trying to get back onto his broom.

"Lynch is arguing with the healers, he wants to fly!" Bagman informed the crowd. "And…yes, they're letting him go back up! Lynch will take a practice lap before we begin again," Bagman cried to the delight of the crowd.

"Why did Krum do that? Lynch could really have gotten hurt!" Hermione asked in shock, watching Lynch like a hawk as he circled around the stadium.

"It gives him the chance to look for the snitch without interruption,"

Harry and Ron both turned to stare at me.

"What? Can't I know something about Quidditch other than the outcome of the match?" I asked, folding my arms in protest. They looked at one another before shrugging it off and turning back to the game.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View:_

The game was up and running again after a few moments and it was hard not to laugh at James and Sirius who were both yelling hoarsely at Krum.

"Bloody kid, what the hell was he thinking?" Sirius fumed.

"Probably about winning," Lily laughed. Sirius glowered at her but she only laughed harder.

"Who asked you anyway?" James answered, glaring at Krum. "Little git doesn't even look like he knows the tail from the handle! Just look at his positioning, it's all wrong!"

"Yeah! Keena would do better than him!" Sirius agreed before looking at me. "No offense, but it is true,"

"None taken, you've just told me I'm better than the best seeker in the League," I laughed.

"He's got no class," Sirius said, shaking his head. "None, no dignity,"

"You're just sore that he tricked your player," Lily said with a grin.

"Just as you should be!" James exclaimed. "Who are you supporting?"

"Dear, I don't follow Quidditch," Lily said gently.

"Blasphemy!" James and Sirius shouted in unison.

I shook my head and turned my attention to the field once more as Bagman announced Ireland scoring another goal. The Irish seemed to be agreeing with James and Sirius, however, as they began playing harder and dirtier. Bludger after bludger was aimed and player after player was nearly knocked off of their brooms. One of the Bulgarian chasers went down with a broken arm and the veela threw a massive fit, halting the game for a full five minutes. All of the men in our row opted to plug their ears as they watched fire balls zoom through the air at leprechauns and players of the Irish team. Finally, they were calmed down by what looked like a more civilized, older version of them. She stood in front of them, hands on her hips and a beautiful glare on her face as she screeched at them to halt. Whatever she said it worked but she did throw a fireball at the leprechauns when they began snickering, effectively shutting them up as well.

Finally the game began again and Ireland now had the advantage of still holding all eight players while the Bulgarian team's catcher had replaced their injured chaser. Ireland continued their scoring streak, making it impossible for Bulgaria to catch up, even if Krum had caught the snitch. One bludger launched past a player and nearly decapitated Lily, though James pulled her out of the way without a second to spare, giving another penalty to Bulgaria since it had been one of their beaters. The leprechauns looked smug about this as they all blew a large raspberry at the veela, who bristled and looked as though they were about to throw fire again.

Suddenly another bludger was launched, this one smashing Krum in the face. The leprechaun couldn't seem to help themselves as they formed a giant message of 'HaHaHa!" in the sky and the veela war was on once more, distracting everyone for a few moments until it was noticed that the Irish catcher, Donovan, was diving for the ground, Lynch making his way to meet him. Krum ignored the heavy flow coming from his face and raced toward the other two and the stadium stood up as they screamed at the seekers and catcher.

Donovan reached the snitch first and wheeled about to hand it off to Lynch when Krum knocked Lynch out of the way as a bludger hit Donovan's hand, causing him to release the snitch. Lynch and Krum dove after the snitch in a two second race toward the earth when Lynch failed to pull up and Krum spun off of his broom, coming out of the dive too fast. The entire stadium held its breath as both Krum and Lynch lay still before Krum stood up, raising his fist to show that he had the snitch.

"Ireland wins! Bulgaria gets the snitch and Ireland wins!" Bagman roared over the cheers of the crowd as the leprechauns circled the stadium, showering their gold everywhere once more. "I don't believe it! Bulgaria pulls off a messy rendition of Twice Caught Snitch and Ireland still managed the win!"

"They won! They won!" Sirius and James sang happily along with the twins, who were a bit louder down the row in their excitement as Ireland performed their victory lap while Bulgaria simply landed in the top box without a second thought. The chaser held his arm in a sling, having refused to have it healed before the end of the match and Krum ignoring his bleeding nose and bruised face, though he looked slightly satisfied at having caught the snitch from the Irish catcher.

The Irish landed in the box next, Lynch being supported by the beaters and Donovan holding his broken hand and wrist close to him as the team accepted the cup. The stadium roared and the Irish national anthem blared making it impossible to hear anything.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the winners of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup, Ireland!" Bagman cried as the Irish stood waving, raising the cup into the air.

Once the crowds had quieted, both teams exited the box, talking to one another in their native tongues as they descended down the stairs. Bagman silenced his voice and gave a grin to Sirius, nodded to Arthur and Molly and retreated down the stairs, though Fred and George chased after him without a second thought, ignoring Molly's call telling them not to run.

"That was amazing, I never thought it would play out like that!" Sirius said excitedly.

"It was a very good match," Remus agreed, Bill nodding next to him.

"Did you have a good time, Harry?" Lily asked as the other kids made their way over to our group.

"It was definitely the best birthday present ever," Harry decided with a grin.

Remus laughed and we all looked at him curiously. "Good luck topping this next year,"

**There's the end of this one! I hope you all enjoyed it! Oh and there was a question earlier about relationship status' and my answer is that they will all be appropriately dealt with. Can't really say more than that without giving my plan away, sorry! Please Review! Next is Chapter 5!**

**:-D**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Feel It?

**It still ain't mine!**

**Sorry it took so long! Enjoy!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

Leprechauns were still zooming overhead when we arrived back at the tents, everyone energized by the exciting win. Molly didn't even scold Fred and George when they caught back up with us after chasing down Bagman for Merlin knows what reason. All around us people were celebrating, even Bulgaria (though something told me that was thanks to a bit of adult beverage). James, Sirius and Remus were all chatting excitedly with the younger boys while Arthur spoke a bit more officially with Percy on the finer aspects of the match.

"I still can't believe that Krum kept playing with his nose broken like that!" Hermione exclaimed for what seemed like the hundredth time. Ginny rolled her eyes while Kailey gave a knowing smirk. It was well past midnight and everyone seemed to be past the stage that required sleep and ended in a sillier and wired atmosphere, not to mention there seemed to be an unspoken contest to be the last to go to bed.

"Care to share?" I asked, leaning over to whisper in her ear. Kailey giggled and shook her head violently, laughing out loud when Hermione turned to stare at her.

"Come now, girls, what's all this fuss?" Molly asked curiously, though trying to seem more adult about the gossip.

"It's nothing, Mrs. Weasley, honestly," Kailey answered, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice.

"I feel as though you're teasing," Lily said accusingly.

"No, it'd only be teasing if I went 'I know something you don't know'," she sang, laughing again when her face suddenly went blank before putting on a serious expression. "Oh no,"

Her terrified whisper halted our conversation and the atmosphere at our end of the table shifted dramatically. Slowly, the conversations at the other end of the table died out too as everyone turned to stare at Kailey's frightened expression.

"Kailey, what is it?" I asked, turning her face to look into her eyes.

She opened her mouth and closed it again when she suddenly stood up. "I need to go and check something," she muttered, racing out of the tent towards the smaller tent that was for the girls.

"What was that all about?" a twin asked, looking at his identical brother who shrugged.

"I think it's time you all go to bed," Molly decided. No one argued her and quiet conversations picked up as the boys moved towards their beds. "Keena, Lily, do either of you know—?"

"Not a clue," I answered, standing. "Not yet at least,"

"Girls, why don't you stay with Molly for a moment?" Lily suggested, following me out of the large tent and into the girls' tent.

Kailey was flying through the pages of a large book, looking more and more flustered with each page. She finally stopped and held the coverless book to her face. Looking closer I could tell that the title and author of the book had been covered with ink all along the spine of the book.

"Damn!" she swore, throwing the book back into her bag before standing up and pacing. "God bleeding damn it!" she muttered, her hands pulling at her hair.

"Kailey, what is going on?" Lily asked, stepping into the room.

"We're in danger," Kailey said frustrated. "We're in danger and I don't know when it starts,"

"What? Now?" I asked, my body tensing at once. "What sort of danger? Who is the cause? Why didn't you--?"

"Yes, now, the kind with death eaters and because I—" she stopped short her eyes widening as something exploded in the distance. "Oh God, it's starting,"

Without a second thought, I whirled around and flew into the other tent where everyone was still talking, all completely dressed still and all wondering what the loud explosion had been.

"C'mon, everyone out!" I yelled, taking out my wand.

"What is going on?" Sirius asked, taking his own wand out as well.

"Something's happening, and whatever it is involves Death Eaters," I answered as everyone filed out of the tent, circling around and looking at one another, confused, everyone glancing at Kailey who was standing next to Lily and shaking.

"Kailey, what--?"

Sirius' question was cut off by sudden screams coming from the entrance to the camp grounds and lights began flashing as people lit their wands before fleeing, though we couldn't see what they were running from we could see tents exploding into the air.

"Molly, you take the kids out into the trees," James said, snapping into his Auror mode immediately. "The rest of us will stay and see what's going on,"

"No, Fred and George will watch the children, if my sons are going to fight so will I," Molly stated.

James nodded and turned to the twins. "This is no time for jokes; you two will watch these five and keep them safe. You will use your wands if necessary," he said the last part for the benefit of the entire group as he looked at them all.

"Merlin and Founders," Remus snarled and I turned to look at what he was seeing. There were four people floating in the air some distance off and below them were at least fifty death eaters, more joining them by the second, all dressed in their black, hooded robes and silver masks. Some were shouting and others laughed as they blasted tents out of their path.

"Go now," I said, turning to the kids, giving Ginny, who was closest to me, a small shove towards George. "Go, before it gets any worse,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I couldn't believe I had forgotten again. No one was supposed to die but that didn't mean that no one would and it would be my fault if they did. I couldn't bring myself to look at the others as we fled towards the forest. I did my best to keep us all together as we kept running but to no avail and we lost Fred, George and Ginny before we were at the woods.

Hermione had tripped and dropped her wand in the process. Harry and I had searched for it while Ron helped her up. I finally grew anxious and drew my own wand and used a summoning spell to find it. By the time we had done all this, we had lost the other three.

"Now what?" Hermione asked her eyes wide with fear as the others turned to me.

"We go to the woods and hope that we might be able to find them," I answered. "It's going to be alright," I added as she threw a nervous look over her shoulder. "We'll find them or they'll find us when this is over,"

"Did you forget again?" Harry asked quietly as we slowed our pace, just barely into the woods.

I noticed a blonde head, ducking behind a tree before answering. "Yeah, I guess I'm just a bad pet owner, honestly, who forgets that they left their cat with their dad for the summer?" I answered with a laugh, nodding towards the tree.

"Maybe you should just bring her with you next time, I'm sure Sirius and Keena wouldn't mind," Harry answered, looking between the tree and me.

"I can't believe you're talking about a cat!" Hermione muttered. "What if those people get hurt?"

"Traumatized more like," Malfoy had 'slyly' come out from behind the tree and was now leaning against it. "If they ever do get down,"

"Please, Malfoy, with the amount of Ministry and Aurors out there it'll only be a matter of time," I replied in the same casual manner. "They might even catch some snot-nosed grease ball,"

"You shouldn't talk about your father like that, _Snape_," he shot off, emphasizing my last name with a sneer.

"You little—let me go, Harry! I want to do what Hermione did," I growled, pulling against Harry, managing to drag forward by a centimeter before Ron grabbed a hold of my other arm.

"Don't be offended, his connection is bound to keep you safe from the mob," Malfoy answered, though he was no longer leaning against the tree in a casual manner.

"My father is not in that crowd of low-life scum, can't say the same for you and your buggering parents!" I yelled, still struggling against the boys.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron called as he and Harry finally started towing me away.

"Better hurry! Her dad won't protect the mudblood," Malfoy called after us once there was a considerable distance between us and him. He didn't bother to wait for a reply as he headed off in the opposite direction.

I growled an oath before turning around to follow Hermione deeper into the woods. "Let go of me," I muttered, wrenching my arms from their grip.

"You can't go attacking him now," Hermione said matter-of-factly after a moment. "And you know Malfoy; he'll say anything to get you—"

"I know, I know, I'll wait till we're at school," I interrupted before she could add anything else. "I'm sorry; I'm just annoyed is all,"

"Must be nice, only being annoyed while the rest of us are petrified," Ron said thoughtfully and I squinted through the dark to see a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, it really is, just wish I remembered sooner," I sighed. "I've gotta go back and make sure I don't miss anything else,"

"What else would you have missed?" Harry asked.

"You mean aside from your wand going missing? Nothing much," I answered with a shrug. "And no, I'm not joking, yes you will get it back and no I won't tell you who took it," I added when he suddenly went digging through his pockets.

"You let someone steal my wand?" he sounded more shocked than angry, though I could hear the edge in his voice.

"Like I said, I need to refresh my brain,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Chaos didn't need an apple of discord in this mess.

People were screaming and scattering everywhere and it was pure luck that kept our group within sight of one another as we sprinted toward the few ministry officials who stood with their wands aimed at the mass of death eaters. The group of what looked like around twenty people was arguing with one another about what to do and there didn't look like anyone was prepared to fight, most of the people looked like volunteers.

"Auror McIntosh!" one of my old trainees, Jake, called as he saw me and the others. "Thank Merlin, we only have ten security Aurors here,"

"What's the plan of action?" James asked. "Attack the scum or rescue the muggles?"

"No one has any idea, if we attack one it might be the one who's holding them up," Jake answered looking over his shoulder. "Any suggestions?"

"We could use _aresto_ _momentum_, if they began to fall," Remus suggested. "Or summon them,"

"Meanwhile the rest of us fight," Sirius ended, almost eagerly.

"But who is strong enough to summon an entire person? Let alone four," another Auror said, having listened to the conversation.

"Keena, you could do it," Lily said, taking a hold of my arm. "Your wand is newest and you haven't done something powerful with it yet,"

"What if she becomes exhausted?" James said.

"I shouldn't, my wand is newer, like she said, it's capable of more magic than your wand because its core is younger, that's why first years are able to do spells, simple as they may be, at levels equal to a fully trained wizard in magic," I explained.

"But you haven't properly bonded with your wand either," Remus argued. "That's why we keep our wands, because the better the bond, the stronger the magic,"

"But this wand was made for me," I replied quietly. "Even if I'm wrong, I won't let them fall,"

"Alright, as soon as the muggles are clear, everyone try to take down as many of them as you can," Sirius called over the group and people nodded, though one young Auror looked as though she were about to pass out.

Lily and Remus produced a shield around me as I aimed my wand at the younger of the two children and called "_Accio_ _girl_!" The blast of light shot above the shield and wrapped around the girl's small waist and tugged her towards me until James was able to scoop her out of the air. "_Accio_ _boy_!" and the child was coming towards me, still quickly and he landed on his feet and rushed to his sister, hugging her close.

As I raised my wand again, a red thud sounded as the blast connected with the shield, another following it quickly.

"Keep going, Keena!" Lily called, holding her arm steady.

I tightened my grip on my warm wand and aimed at the women, summoning her towards me. She moved much slower than her children and my arm was shaking by the time Sirius and James could help her land on the ground. More blasts were attacking the shield as I raised my arm again, this time for the man who was now flying from side to side, a moving target.

Growling out an oath, James fired a blast of his own into the crowd and the man was still for the second that it took for me to summon him. The wood under my fingers was burning from the use, but the light didn't falter when suddenly at least three different spells collided with the shield and it faltered and splintered before us.

My concentration broke and the man was suddenly falling towards us.

"_Wingardium_ _leviosa_!" Remus and Sirius shouted in unison, and lowered the man to the ground. "Get up, get up!" Sirius shouted, heaving the man to his feet.

"Come over here!" a woman in a nightgown called from next to the man's family. She looked like someone from the ministry and she took a slipper from her foot and turned it into a portkey. "Come, all of you, take a hold of it," and they were gone.

Suddenly the death eater mass was furious and we all stood still for half a moment before the distance between us was closed. I lost sight of the others as I dueled with a shorter, thinner villain, sucked into the dance of the duel. Purple, red, duck, white, dive, orange, jump, blue, red again. Twisting and turning away from one another before moving in again. A red curse grazed my arm and I fired back yellow, hitting my foe in the chest, though she didn't fall.

I heard more than felt the shudder of my legs as I was hit from behind and I rolled around and threw a red light at the taller wizard. He ducked but his hood fell and his blonde hair looked silver in the light of the night and flames. I released my legs and wheeled back around to find the first duelist, his wife, missing.

I stood back up and began the dance again with a different partner when the scene suddenly changed. A sound like cracking thunder echoed from deep within the woods and the entire campground was bathed briefly in startling green light. The screams within the woods were renewed and suddenly the field was filled with crackings of disapparations before any death eaters could be caught.

The field was empty in seconds, leaving behind only those of us who fought for the light. I looked down at my left arm to inspect my burned skin. It was bleeding but would not be unmanageable so I ignored it for the moment as everyone gathered together for a brief moment.

"If you were previously trained as an Auror, a current member of the ministry, uninjured and willing, circle up here, we need to apparate to the woods and catch that bastard!" Amos Diggory called to the group. Five of the original Aurors, James, Sirius, me, and Arthur gathered in with the group as did eight or nine other ministry officials. "Alright, on three," he continued.

We landed in a thicker part of the path around four people and we raised our wands as one, sending out stunners. In the red light I could make out one of the terrified faces looking up at us, bewildered. In shock, I stopped firing the stunners and grabbed a hold of Sirius' arm as Arthur called the attack off.

"What were you four thinking?" I yelled, furious once everyone had lowered their wands, dragging Kailey and Harry towards me while Arthur pulled Hermione and Ron out of the center. The mountain troll incident was nothing compared to this. "Where are the others? Why aren't you with them?"

"We got separated from them and then Harry lost his wand and—" Hermione began before she was interrupted.

"Oh, how convenient, you happened to get 'separated' and he 'lost' his wand," the man standing across from me growled. It was Barty Crouch. Sirius made a noise in the back of his throat and made a move towards him but James and I grabbed him from both sides.

"What is it you are insinuating, Crouch?" he snapped, wrenching his arms free so that he could put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "That my godson had something to do with that?"

"That would be ridiculous!" Amos cried nervously, attempting to ease the tension that was suddenly stifling.

"Look, they were out here, maybe they know what happened," Nickie suggested. I hadn't even noticed they had ended up in the fray. "What did you four see?"

"There was a man out there," Kailey answered, pointing to the woods, but staring at Crouch. "He produced the Dark Mark and then everyone started screaming again,"

"And how can we trust _you_?" Crouch growled. "You were not raised in the wizarding world from what I know of you, how could you know what that is?"

"Barty, calm down," a woman in a dressing gown barked.

"Out there, was he?" James asked, heading for the woods. Kailey and the others nodded. It was a miracle that his and Lily's glamour's had stayed on throughout this whole thing. His blonde head was giving off a strange green tinge as various warnings were called to him.

"Got anything Johnny?" Sirius called when James bent over to pick something up.

"Yeah, but you'll never believe it!" he answered, coming back towards the group, house-elf in arms. "Anyone recognize her?"

"She's mine," Crouch answered in a strangled whisper, before stumbling towards the woods, looking for something. I frowned and exchanged a look with Sirius and James.

"This can't be possible," Jeremy muttered. "She couldn't have done it with a wand even if she had one!"

"She did, though," James muttered, placing the house-elf down and taking the wand out of his pocket and handing it to Amos, who reached for it. Crouch stumbled back towards us and stared at the elf.

"We should wake her, see what she knows," Lexi suggested.

"You don't mind, do you Barty?"

Before he could answer there was a loud crack and Ludo Bagman was suddenly in the middle of the group, next to Ron who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Have I missed anything? Who sent it up?"

"We don't know, we were just about to wake up this house elf and find out," said the woman in the dressing gown, sounding agitated.

Bagman made a little 'O' shape with his mouth as Amos stepped forward to wake the elf up. He waited until she had finished blinking a few times before speaking to her. "Do you know where you are elf?" the way he said 'elf' made it clear that he looked down on any creature that wasn't strictly human.

The poor thing nodded nervously, trying and failing to keep her eyes only on Amos as he addressed her. "I want you to explain what you were doing with this wand,"

"I—I is never carrying a w-wand, S-sir, I is a good elf I is," she mumbled.

"Do not lie! Where did you get the wand?" he brandished it in front of her face and she cowered.

"Isn't it possible, Amos, that the wand was simply next to her? Or was it in her hand, Johnny?" I asked, not liking how Amos was making her tremble. James shook his head.

"It was next to her, I just assumed," he answered with a shrug.

"There? You see? No need to be so mean,"

"If you'll pardon this, _Ms_. McIntosh, I am well equipped to handle magical creatures well enough," Amos grumbled. "Besides, how else are we going to find the owner of this?" he held it up and the dark wood was visible in the light from the still glowing mark.

"That's mine," Harry blurted out and the entire circle turned to stare at him. "I lost it before we got into the woods," he added, probably because of the looks of shock his father, godfather and I were giving him.

"Do you mind, Mr. Potter, if we test the wand? Just to see what the last spell performed was?" an older looking Auror asked. He looked genuinely curious, but I didn't like the idea.

"Harry is under-aged, you need to ask _me_ that question," Sirius stated stiffly.

"Don't you trust your godson, Mr. Black?" Ah and there it was. The old Auror didn't trust Sirius and was looking for an excuse to get him into trouble.

"Are you insinuating that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived mind you, would produce that monstrosity during the middle of a Death Eater raid?" Arthur spoke up, raising an eyebrow at the older man.

"If he didn't do it—"

"The bloke who produced that thing probably wasn't stupid enough to use his own wand," Orion said, shaking his head. "I'd bet twenty galleons that he used that wand and then left it by the house-elf just to avoid the blame,"

Everyone began murmuring at that statement and Kailey looked like she was trying to hide something behind a cough. I frowned and looked up at Sirius. "You think?"

"I don't care so long as we can prove it wasn't Harry," he answered.

"We know it wasn't," James muttered. "I doubt he even knew what that was,"

"Proof is what he'll need," Sirius insisted and Harry's face paled. "Otherwise they'll make him out to be guilty until proven innocent,"

"They won't want to think the worst in him, Sirius, they've built him up for too long," I said, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder, over Sirius' hand. "Let's just get the wand and get out of here,"

"Mr. Black, have you decided?"

Sirius gave me a long. "I've decided that I'm tired and that I don't want Harry without his wand, especially right now, I'm surprised another riot hasn't broken out," he answered. "Give him his wand and we can all be on our way," he directed the last at Amos who nodded and handed the wand to Harry who immediately placed it in his pocket.

The kids, Arthur, Sirius, James and I all began making our way out of the forest and as soon as we were out of ear shot of the other group I turned around to face them. "Let's get this straight, here and now, the reporters get nothing, the four of you shall be silent if and when they decide to bother any of us. And the next time you lot are separated from the group please, for Merlin and the Founders' sake, don't go farther away from where there are people who can help you. Understood?"

They nodded, all looking properly ashamed before we continued on to the mouth of the pathway where, as was predictable, were the crowd of people with cameras and quills.

"I'll handle it, I haven't got a name for them to damage," James muttered as we approached them.

"What's going on?"

"Who cast the Mark?"

"Were there any arrests?"

"What is _Harry_ _Potter_ doing out there?"

"Is that an ex-death eater's daughter?"

"Excuse me!" James called over all the questions. "You all know what is going on, a death eater most likely cast the Mark, no arrests were made to my knowledge, and we would all like to get to bed, now if you'll excuse us,"

"But—"

We ignored the stuttering and walked on, back towards the tent where Lily and Molly were having panic attacks at the table while helping to clean up Bill, Remus, Percy and Charlie all at the same time.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Lily grabbed Harry in a bear hug the moment he stepped through the door and I was sucked into it moments later as she alternated between crying and scolding us for not staying with the group. Over her shoulder I could see Hermione and Ron being given the same treatment from Molly. When we were finally released, the four of us were made to sit down at the table and have a drink of warm tea. I didn't argue only because I knew I had scared everyone by not remembering. Again.

Keena sat down across from Harry and rolled up her sleeve to reveal blackened skin that was beginning to scab over. She gave an exaggerated sigh, sounding more annoyed than anything, and looked up at our shocked faces, a grim smile coming to her face.

"Now, if you four could please imagine what would have happened had I hesitated in dodging this curse?" we shuddered collectively and she nodded, approving of our reaction. "Good, now please imagine your mothers' terror at learning you are not with Fred and George, that you are possibly hurt or worse, can you feel it?"

I looked at Hermione, who had covered her mouth, to Harry, who was staring at his godmother's arm in shock, to Ron, whose gaze had traveled to Mrs. Weasley with an expression of apology. I took a deep breath and nodded.

We could certainly feel it.

**That's the end of this one! I'll do my best to work on my juggling work, swim, senior year in general (applications included) and this! Next is number 6! I can't answer questions if you don't (Please, Please!) review! **

**:-D**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Discussing Occasions

**Not mine. **

**Thanks for reading! Enjoy it!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

The return to Potter Mansion brought with it two things. The first of which was a buffet breakfast big enough to fill the Great Hall once the house elves found out we were safe (Bambly had read the morning's Prophet to the other elves and they had all received the Weasleys, Potters and the rest of us with tears). The second was shock from Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny when the fact that my father was mentioned as an ex-death eater was read aloud by Bill. Now that was a bullet I would have liked to dodge.

"Your dad was in league with You-Know-Who?" Ron blurted out when the room had grown quiet. I bit my lip as Mrs. Weasley flicked her wand in Ron's direction for his lack of manners; his ears flamed red as he muttered an apology.

"Severus turned spy for us well before the war was over," Lily said calmly, giving Harry a look when he turned to look at her with a doubtful expression. "He figured out for himself that he had made a mistake,"

"Speaking of your father, he'll probably want a letter to know that you're safe," Keena added to me and I nodded, moving to stand when the chime from the floo went off; Remus and James had fixed it so that it wouldn't make a loud gonging noise every time it was used.

"Of course we should have remembered Snape's not known for his patience," James muttered with a roll of his eyes as he stood up to head for the kitchen, beckoning for me to follow.

I exited the room gratefully, hoping that someone would be able to get them all to stop staring in case my dad entered the room. I followed James into the blue kitchen to find Snape being accosted by Bambly and a plate of food.

"I is insisting, Sir," Bambly said, shoving the plate into Snape's hands.

"Potter, control your elves," Snape grumbled when he noticed James and me entering the room.

"Mistress Jaime was always telling Bambly to have enough to feeds all guests. Master James is always telling Bambly to remember his old Mistress and Bambly is doing so, sir, but Miss Kailey's father is not liking it," Bambly explained, fixing Snape with a look that was both aggravated and obedient at the same time.

"It's alright, Bambly, I'm sure Snape has already had his breakfast for the day," James said. "But I think they were waiting for more rolls in the other room," he hinted when Bambly still didn't move.

The little elf bobbed out of the room with a tray of rolls and bread and Snape placed the food back on the counter before looking at James again.

"What happened last night?" he asked bluntly. "I have numerous howlers landing on my desk as we speak and Dumbledore has gone to the Ministry to sort out a court order from the Wizengamot with my name on it,"

"Honestly, I have no idea. A riot of death eating scum attacked some muggles and then one of them seemed to deem it appropriate to send off the Dark Mark before any could be captured." James answered, shaking his head. "But our kids," his lips twitched at the word 'our', "got themselves lost and ended up directly underneath the thing last night. The four of them were lucky not to get hurt," he finished, turning to give me a look that said I-don't-want-to-tell-but-Lily-will-kill-me-if-I-don't. I rolled my eyes at his weakness.

"So," Snape turned to me with a glare. "You decided to wander off into trouble? Again?"

"No, we got separated from the others, it isn't our fault that trouble always finds us," I defended. James' lips twitched again and Snape rolled his eyes. "It's true! You think I wanted to get mauled by a troll first year? Or petrified by a giant snake in my second? No thanks,"

"Would it honestly kill you to at least avoid the trouble, though?" he insisted, rubbing his temples in aggravation.

"I can't avoid everything," I grumbled, folding my arms and Snape sighed.

"So how are they all taking the news?" he asked, gesturing to the hall where James and I had come from. "I assume you have read the prophet and they have seen it," he added.

"They're in shock," James answered. "Funny, though, I thought it wouldn't have surprised them,"

"Thank you for your vote of confidence," Snape sneered sarcastically.

"Any time," was James' cheerful answer. "But seriously, maybe you want to go and explain it to them? Just so Kailey doesn't have to," he added and Snape looked at me with guilt plain in his eyes.

"Would now be a bad time to do so?"

"I doubt it matters,"

They both turned to me. I took a step back and raised my hands in defense. "Don't you dare make me choose. If you don't want me to talk about it, I won't," I added for my dad's benefit. "I'll distract them by alluding to this year's…events,"

They looked at one another before Snape shook his head. "This was over with fourteen years ago, I'm not about to bring it up and acknowledge juvenile mistakes again,"

James shrugged. "That's your choice, I won't let them bug her," he added, gesturing to me. "The girls are off to Diagon Alley today in any case and the boys would probably end up being the issue so we'll talk to them,"

"Boys? Who else is here?" Snape asked frowning.

"The Weasleys, we invited them over before this whole mess came about. They're staying here for the day," James explained.

Snape nodded slowly. "Is it really a good idea to go out today?"

"They'll be fine, they'll have two ex-Unspeakables, an ex-Auror and Molly Weasley with them," James answered with a nod. "I mean, have you ever seen her in a duel?"

Snape raised an eyebrow but shook his head. "She raised those twin hellions, I'm hardly surprised," he said. "If you're sure you're alright," he nodded to me.

"I'm fine, dad," I answered with a small smile. "I'll see you in September,"

He ruffled my hair with only the smallest hesitation before turning back to the fireplace and heading back to Hogwarts. I turned to James, who quickly hid his surprise at Snape showing a bit of affection.

"You weren't just saying that were you? About getting them to lay off it?" I was nervous that they'd find a way to speak to me alone about it if the adults didn't say anything. "I mean, it isn't as though you can throw up the whole 'it's between Dumbledore and me' thing is it?"

"Don't worry about it, they'll leave you alone, it isn't like you had any control over the situation," James answered, placing a hand on my shoulder in a way that reminded me of a father as we made our way back to the dining room. "And if they do, just let me know and I'll take care of it,"

I grinned in thanks before we entered the Gryffindor-like room.

* * *

"You know, I don't remember the last time I came to Diagon Alley for pure enjoyment," Mrs. Weasley said as the six of us wandered down the lane. We had just finished the school shopping and sent everything home with three of the Potter elves and we were off to Madame Malkin's robes to find the final item on the school list; dress robes. We had agreed early on not to tell the boys about them and just have the elves pack them into the trunks to avoid wrinkling them.

"I know exactly what you mean, Molly," Keena nodded. "There never seems to be the time,"

"Who are you kidding, Keena? You were on the run for the whole year last year and the year before that you worked at the school," Lily laughed.

"Exactly, I had no time,"

"And yet you still managed to get everyone Christmas gifts," Ginny wondered aloud. "All seven of us and then some,"

"Um…" we laughed at Keena's stumped expression before she rolled her eyes. "Fine, say what you like, we've got some dresses to find,"

"What are dress robes?" Hermione asked curiously. "I know what they're used for, but I've never seen any,"

"Well, for boys they're basically just fancier robes, they come in more colors and they…well, they are more…how would you describe them, Molly?" Lily paused with a frown.

"I'd call them more classical looking," Mrs. Weasley answered. "They have collars similar to tuck's a dos,"

"Tuxedos," Lily corrected with a smile. "But yes, I agree; only they aren't in black unless they're funeral robes,"

"And the girls?" I asked, curious. A book can only tell you so much about clothing.

"They're formal gowns, but they often are a little less classical," Keena answered. "For example a prom gown, only…different,"

"How so?" Hermione asked.

"What is a prom?" Ginny wondered aloud.

"A big formal dance that high schoolers go to in their junior or senior year, sometimes both," I answered. "Girls can spend hours getting ready for it, doing nails and hair and make-up,"

"And those dresses usually change style with the times, but dresses in the magical world often maintain the basis of the original dress in at least one aspect," Lily finished as we came to the store. "Depending on the occasion, a pair of dress robes for girls can be used for a dance of some sort to a wedding gown,"

We entered the large shop to find it mostly empty, probably thanks to last night's public scare. There had not been many people in any of the shops, now that I thought of it. The people who were there stuck together in clusters and avoided eye contact with the other shoppers. I had never seen Diagon Alley look so unfriendly.

The Madame Malkin herself came to greet us with a wide smile that reached her eyes, the first real grin we'd seen all day. "Mrs. Weasley, dear, how are you?" she asked.

"I'm well, Madame, thank you, we're just here for dress robes," Mrs. Weasley answered, inching towards the discount racks.

"Molly, where do you think you're going?" Lily asked, taking her by the arm. "I've got fourteen years of birthday presents to make up for, and I need help picking something for Harry,"

Keena turned to the three of us. "I'd rather shop for you three than the boys," she grinned. "C'mon, let's have a look,"

We combed the racks; though Ginny took a few minutes to stop looking at prices first as Keena insisted that she would pay for the dress no matter the cost. Most of the gowns were gorgeous and slender, but a few reminded me of princesses from Disney movies with their large trains and skirts. Hermione had wandered off on her own while Keena stayed with Ginny. I fingered the necklace around my neck, wondering if I could find something to match the silver snake and ruby heart.

"Can I help you with something, miss?" Madame Malkin asked, noticing my expression.

"I'm looking for something to match this," I said, pulling at the chain so I could show her the charm. "It's from my dad so I thought it'd be nice if I wore it, but I don't want to wear something red or green because I don't want to look like I'm Christmas themed," I explained.

"My, that is…quite an interesting necklace," she answered, her eyes no doubt stuck on the snake, and I blushed. "I'm sure I can help you find something," she added quickly, dropping the chain and hurrying towards a rack closer to the back of the shop.

I followed her around the back of the store as she handed me dress after dress to carry while we searched. I shook my head at some of the frillier designs before she'd got them completely out to show me and she chuckled at my expression of horror when she pulled out a striped dress donning several snakes around the cuffs and hems.

"I'm a Gryffindor, Madame," I added after she began to pull out another dress with a snake on it. "My father was the Slytherin," I added when she raised her eyebrow.

"Do you mind me asking your name, dear?" she requested. I bit my lip, thinking the name 'Snape' might make her nervous if she had read the prophet. Then a light bulb went off in my head.

"Prince…I'm a Prince," I answered. "At least, that's what my grandmother's name was,"

She dropped the dress and stared at me wide-eyed. _Maybe I should've gone with Snape…or better yet, Macauley…_

"My dear, I am so very sorry, I had no idea," she apologized, taking the dresses off of my arms and holding them in her own. "Come to the back, we'll have something made right away, something original,"

"I don't need an original," I blurted out in surprise. "Something you've got there will be fine, I'm sure of it,"

She looked at me worriedly before nodding and leading me to the dressing room. "Anything you want tailored, I'll have it done for free," she told me, hanging the dresses in the room and half bowing on her way out.

I blinked at the shut door in complete confusion. _Mental note; never do that again…_

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

The dresses we bought all looked lovely on the three girls, though now Ginny and Hermione were both trying to guess what occasion called for such outfits. A Halloween ball had been the first suggestion and Kailey had rolled her eyes, probably realizing that it would be harder than usual not to say anything. Dumbledore hadn't mentioned anything to us but Mrs. Weasley had and the three of us were just walking behind the girls, smirking.

"What about a New Years Eve dance?" Hermione suggested, running a hand through her hair timidly before shaking her head. I suspected she was worried about what she would do with it whenever the time came.

"Nope,"

"A girl's choice dance?" Ginny asked, blushing as soon as the words were out of her mouth, probably due to the fact that Molly tried to hide a chuckle behind a cough.

"No,"

"There aren't any more occasions! Unless Dumbledore is turning two-hundred!" Ginny cried out in frustration.

Kailey giggled.

"How do you even know?" Ginny asked, scowling.

"My dad," Kailey answered with a shrug, not even acknowledging the lie. "And I'll get in trouble if I say anything more about it," she added innocently.

"Alright, then explain why Madame Malkin was so flustered around you," Hermione challenged. Now Kailey blushed crimson.

"She asked me my surname and well…I didn't want to give her my dad's so I gave her his mom's maiden name and…well…she reacted to it," Kailey mumbled.

"What name?" Lily asked out of curiosity.

Kailey bit her lip and shook her head. "I shouldn't've used it, I'm not supposed to know, I just found it…"

"Found it where?" I asked suspiciously.

"A book,"

"Must be an impressive line," I muttered, thinking I knew which book she was talking about. "That's how Madame Malkin always treated Mrs. Potter back in the day, only…less fearful," Kailey nodded but didn't say anything further on the subject and I figured she was embarrassed. _Maybe it's an impressively dark line…_

We got back to Potter Mansion and had the elves pack the dress robes away in all of the trunks so that they wouldn't wrinkle. The only reason the robes didn't count as clothes was because they didn't belong to the house elves, though neither Mrs. Potter, Lily or myself ever had a house elf touch the laundry.

The Weasleys went home that evening after dinner and desert. Lily headed down to the basement which we had decided to convert into a lab for potions and experimentation before Potter Mansion fell back during the war. James and Remus were helping Harry with his animagus training in the living room and Kailey was reading the same heavy book she had riffled through the night before, a tiny frown forming on her lips as she concentrated, looking up every now and again to hear the answer to a question Harry asked about a spell. Sirius and I were sitting in the loveseat just watching everyone else go about their business. I'd finished off my spells earlier and now I just had to wait until the potion was complete before I would be able to transform again.

"When are we going to do it?" Sirius asked me quietly after staring at Harry and James for a good ten minutes. I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Do what, Sirius?"

"Get married," he answered with a shrug. He turned to look down at me, his gray eyes held no hint of mischief for once.

"When would you like to get married?" I asked, a small smile forming on my lips as I touched the ring on my finger.

"We could always get married tonight," he answered a devilish grin playing on his face.

I raised an eyebrow but shook my head and he frowned before pouting like a puppy. "No, I want everyone to be there, Sirius," I said. "Seeing them all at the cup reminded me of how much I miss them all, besides I want to have a proper wedding, with brides maids, or whatever it is you call them when they're married and guests and all sorts of food that no one is going to eat,"

He laughed at me and shook his head before growing sober again. "How will we manage that? No one will recognize my best man if he's blonde again, and I'm not sure I'm willing to wait that long to get married,"

"Well, let's think of who would be told, right? Obviously everyone here and the Weasleys," I said, trying to count it in my head. "Then there's Amanda with her family, Lexi and Nickie's families as well,"

"Hagrid, Mickey, Dumbles and Sniv—Snape," Sirius added, nodding. "Don't forget Andy and her family," he added.

I nodded. "Tonks' hair will have to match the bridesmaid outfits,"

"Huh?"

"Remus can't walk down the aisle by himself," I said with a roll of my eyes and a grin. Then I frowned again. "But Sirius, who will bring me down the aisle?" Mr. Potter had been my only father figure as Keena; in fact I often regretted never calling him or Mrs. Potter 'Dad and Mom' because honestly that is what they had been to me.

"Harry can do it," Sirius said and I smiled. "He's nearly as tall as you in any case," he added and I smacked him on the arm. "No, really, by the time we actually do get married I think he might've passed you,"

"All kidding around aside, do you really think he would do that for me?" I asked, looking over at where he and James and Remus were debating over something. "You don't think he'd find it odd or anything?"

"I think he'd find it odd if you didn't ask him," Sirius answered with a shrug.

"Okay, then who's the ring bearer supposed to be? Oh, and do I need a flower girl?"

"Those both sound like little kid jobs,"

"But we don't know any little kids,"

"You're making this complicated," he groaned, plopping his head on my shoulder.

"Isn't that part of my job as bride-to-be?" I asked, pulling away when he tried to catch my lips. "Or should we just nix those two roles altogether?"

"Kailey can be flower girl and DJ can be the ring bearer," Sirius said. "Now can I kiss you?"

"No, I'm not finished discuss—" he silenced me with a kiss anyway before I broke away at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Would one of you be so kind enough to tell Remus that he is wrong about a patronus reflecting ones inner animagus form," James requested while Remus rolled his eyes and Kailey shared a glance with Harry.

"A patronus does reflect an animagus form," Sirius said with a frown before turning to me. "Doesn't it?"

I shook my head. "No, it usually reflects the animagus form of someone close to you, that's why mine is a dog,"

"And mine is a doe," James added.

"So mine is a stag because that's what you turn into?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but that will most likely change someday," James answered.

"But what about mine?" Kailey asked. "It's a wolf, right? Well so is my animagus form."

"Maybe your dad would turn into a wolf," James suggested. I shuddered. "What?"

"No offense, Kailey, but I really hope your dad doesn't change into the same animal as us," I said in reply.

She shrugged, pulling her long hair off of her lap and tossing it all over her shoulder. "I don't blame you; he probably turns into a bat or something,"

"Better a bat than a snake," I answered with a nod.

"What's better as a bat?" Lily asked, coming into the room and taking off her dragon hide gloves and handing them off to a house elf that had followed her, holding an apron and some goggles before he disappeared.

"An animagus form," Remus answered and Lily made an 'oh' shape with her mouth.

"Speaking of that, how's the potion coming along?" I asked, sitting up a little in anticipation of her answer. She rolled her eyes at me as she sat down on one of the soft white couches on the other side of the room. "Well?" I pressed when she failed to answer.

"It should be done before we send these two back to Hogwarts," she answered with a smile. Just then the floo chime went off in the kitchen and we all looked around at one another in curiosity.

"That's for me," Sirius said, kissing my cheek as he stood up and left the room. I frowned as I stared after him before looking at the others. Only Harry and Kailey seemed as confused as I did so I gave James a questioning look.

"It's probably about work," James said with a shrug, going over to sit next to Lily.

"Work? Where's he trying to get a job that he's talking to someone here?" I asked with a frown. "And why hasn't he mentioned it to me?"

"He probably didn't want you to worry about it," Lily answered.

"What's to worry about? His inheritance consists of how many properties and how much gold in how many vaults? He's covered for two lifetimes, he doesn't even need a job," I laughed. "He only works because he wants to so why should I worry?"

"It was only a suggestion, I know his family is as rich as ours," she answered with shrug.

"But where is he trying to get a job?" Kailey asked, not having gotten side-tracked like I had as she held her book close as we heard footsteps coming from the kitchen.

"Does anyone mind if the headmaster sits in for a bit?" Sirius asked, gesturing needlessly to Dumbledore who donned a plum colored cloak with little gold stars and suns.

"Headmaster, isn't it a little warm for a full out cloak?" James asked with a grin as Harry sat down next to him and Sirius came back over next to me. Remus and Dumbledore sat down on the last two chairs in the room and I mentally prepared myself for a long talk.

"I don't disagree that it might seem that way but when you've worn a cloak for as long as I have one tends not to notice such things," Dumbledore answered mildly, his eyes twinkling like they always did. "Though I do suppose you must all be wondering why I have chosen to visit,"

"I thought it had to do with Sirius?" I asked, looking from Dumbledore to Sirius with a frown. "Though what it could be I have no idea," I added glaring at Sirius until he pouted.

"I have no doubt that you must know of the events that are to take place this year," Dumbledore began.

"What events, sir?" Harry asked eagerly. Kailey had continued to refuse to give away any knowledge even after the twins jinxed her ice-cream to taste like chocolate (it had previously been vanilla and apparently she had an aversion to chocolate ice-cream).

"Nothing for you to worry over, Harry," Dumbledore answered and Harry frowned as Kailey stuck her tongue out at him. "However, there is one thing I'd like to ask of you, Kailey,"

"Yes?" she answered a little hesitantly.

"Who is going to accept the Defense Against the Dark Arts position?"

His question seemed to confuse her and it took her a moment to answer. "Mad-eye Moody accepts it," she answered quietly, stroking the battered spine of her book. "But you could probably offer it to someone else," she added without hesitation.

"No, I trust Alastor," Dumbledore answered lightly. Sirius and I exchanged a look. Something was up. "Now, Sirius, onto what we were discussing earlier,"

"What other position would you have offered me, sir?" Sirius asked, confused.

"I have decided that since the school will be full of excitement that we should have an Auror on the premises, like those muggle schools sometimes do," Dumbledore explained.

"Like what, a campus officer?" Lily asked and he nodded. "You don't expect trouble, do you?"

"I'd like to think not, but I'd rather be prepared," he answered with another nod of his head as he twirled his beard around in his fingers. I bit my lip at the thought that I'd be separated from Sirius. Again. Honestly, I had just gotten him back. "I also have a preposition for you, Keena,"

"What sort of preposition?" I asked cautiously. _Annoying old man…probably read my mind or something…_

"Some of our students have been requesting adult help but would rather not have to deal with their teachers," he explained. "Some even asked if perhaps you were coming back now that you are no longer 'on the run' as it were,"

"You want me to tutor again?" I asked bluntly.

"Yes," he replied in kind.

I thought for a moment before looking at Harry. "Is it alright with you?"

He raised his eyebrows and glanced at his parents. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"People might make fun of you for having both of your 'guardians' with you," I answered.

"I think it's a good idea," Kailey commented, her hold on her book loosening ever so slightly.

"Very well, now that that is settled I need to talk with the adults alone for a moment," Dumbledore said happily, rubbing his hands together.

"You know what that means," Lily said, turning to look at Harry first then Kailey. They looked at her in innocent confusion; we'd taught them well. "Bed,"

"It's hardly past nine," Harry mumbled as he and Kailey rose without further protest.

"Look on the bright side; as soon as we're back at school they can't tell us when to go to bed," Kailey muttered in return.

They left the living room and we listened as they mounted the stairs but heard only one door close. Sirius and James frowned and Remus was staring at the ceiling with a calculating expression. Dumbledore, Lily and I on the other hand, laughed.

"Please, you three do not seriously think that they're going to go to bed this early? They're probably just talking," I said. "Don't you remember all the nights I spent in your dorm instead of my own?"

"I just don't think that's the same," James muttered.

"Anyway, headmaster, what else would you like to discuss?" Lily asked, ignoring my brother and his hypocrisy.

Dumbledore's answer was simple, short, and unabbreviated. "I've found another Horcrux,"

**That's it for this one! I hope you enjoyed and I'll get chapter 7 up ASAP! **

**:-D **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Family

**I own nada.**

**Enjoy! **

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sirius asked, rubbing my arm gently.

"I'm fine," I snapped, turning away from him and glaring at the wall, wrapping my arms around my legs and burying my face beneath my covers, acting like a moody child.

"Would you like to talk about it?" his voice was patient and I probably should have been grateful or at least respected him for that.

"No," my voice started to splinter and I drew a ragged breath. I could've done a countdown in my head for when the tears finally spilled over. The sobs made my body shake and my heart ached every time I closed my eyes. I'd imagined the little face ages ago. Soft, pale skin, smooth and silky with a tuft of black hair, soft but cold against her head and her lips always partly open, but a perfect pale pink. Her nose small as a button but reminiscent of my own. And her eyes. Those eyes would kill me someday. Open, glassy, a misty gray like her father's but they would never hold a spark like his did. Not now. Not ever.

I sobbed harder, barely registering the fact that Sirius was moving onto the bed to lie next to me when I rolled over and buried my head in his chest, soaking his shirt with my tear stains. He hugged me close and I was grateful that he was finally silent, just pressing his lips to the top of my head and rubbing circles on my back.

"You know, I dream about her too," Sirius muttered once I had started calming down. "I dream about what she would have looked like, how she would act, everything," I didn't answer; I just kept my face pressed to him, waiting for him to continue. "She would've been beautiful, like you, black hair, probably wavy in humid weather. Her eyes—"

"Her eyes would've been yours," I interrupted quietly. "Cool gray, always making mischief with her eyes,"

"She loves you," he murmured gently after a moment.

"How? How could she love me when I failed her?"

"She just does. Every time I dream about her I just feel it. She's always laughing or smiling, sometimes she's a baby, sometimes I imagine her in Hogwarts robes or on a broom. Always happy, she has to love you," his last statement came out as a declaration and I held my breath before speaking again.

"In my dreams she's only a baby. A corpse," I looked up at him to gauge his reaction. His eyes were filling with tears and I could see the gauntness of Azkaban creeping back into them. "Do you really think there is nothing left for me to do? No way left for me to save her?"

"It's a fool's hope, love," he answered gently. "You can't keep holding on. I know how much you wanted her but…" he trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished.

"But what, Sirius?"

"But maybe…once we're married…we could…" he paused and trailed off again, avoiding my eyes. "It's just that…I'd always hoped maybe…well, when we first found out that we were going to have Aradia I always wanted to…make sure that…er…"

"Sirius, of course we're going to give her a brother or sister," I said quietly and he gave a small smile, wiping the remains of a tear off of my face. "Just because I'm still upset about her sometimes doesn't mean that I don't want more children,"

"Is now a bad time to say I love you?" he asked, his smile growing a little.

I gave him a chaste kiss in reply before hugging him tightly again. "Can we visit her today?"

"We can visit her everyday if it'll make you happy," he answered, sitting us both up. "And Lily said the potion would be ready today," he added, probably thinking I had forgotten and the news would cheer me up. It was sweet so I indulged him.

"Oh, that's right! It's about time I am able to be in the same room as Moony on his special night again. I feel so bad for the wolf," I said, wiping my eyes. Apparently the wolf disliked it when a part of his pack was missing. He, James and Lily were currently at one of the unoccupied Potter Houses, the Manor which contained a dungeon. "Harry must be ecstatic," I added.

"Are you ready to get up, then?" he asked, his hand brushing my face. I grabbed it and held it there.

"Yeah, but do you mind not telling anyone I had another nightmare? I don't want them to worry," I requested before moving to stand up.

"I don't mind, but do you think maybe Harry would like to visit her with us?"

"Not today, maybe tomorrow," I answered, heading to the bathroom.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"I told you we shouldn't eaves drop," I muttered to Harry. "There was no need for us to know that they were going to have more kids someday. That was a very private discussion and now you feel guilty and nervous,"

He didn't say anything as we headed back down the hall and towards the kitchen for breakfast. It was still early and he had woken me up, telling me that he had heard screaming from somewhere in the house. We had tracked the source to Sirius and Keena's room only by the time we got there it was sobbing. I'd tried to get him to walk away from the door but he didn't budge until we heard his name come from the other side of the door.

"Harry? Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, course I am," he answered, staring straight ahead.

"Good because I think I'm going to go and make out with Malfoy as soon as we get on the train and then go find some nice little firsties to tease, maybe hex a few," I said, glancing at Harry to find his expression hadn't changed.

"Yeah, cool," was his reply.

I grabbed him by the arm and he stared at me, coming to a stop. "What?" his eyes went wide when he noticed that I was giving him a look of utter disgust.

"You just told me making out with _Malfoy_ would be 'cool' what do you mean 'what'?"

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Harry, maybe you should talk to your dad about this if you're uncomfortable with the idea of visiting Aradia," I suggested carefully. "Or not," I amended when he started shaking his head.

"I never knew that she was still that much…that it still affected her so much," he said. "I guess I just never thought about it that much. After she told me about dementors and what one had done to her and Aradia, well I guess it just didn't sink in,"

"You shouldn't feel guilty about that, Harry," I replied in a less accusing tone. "You don't need to do anything but make sure that you are supportive when she needs you and that if you want any more information to go and ask someone instead of eaves dropping to get to it,"

"I know, I'm sorry, I guess I'm just not used to being able to go to an adult like that," he answered nodding and ruffling his hair. "Asking my parents doesn't even occur to me half the time, like when I had that nightmare; I came straight to you,"

"Maybe it'll get easier with time," I answered supportively. "Unless you want to get your girlfriend advice from me," I teased, poking him in the shoulder.

He snorted. "Who said I needed advice?" he asked as we descended to the kitchen. Two elves were scurrying around the stove and fridge and started working even faster once they noticed us. Harry and I exchanged a look of confusion. "Er…you don't have to move any quicker,"

"We is sorry, Master Harry, we is late," one elf squeaked.

"No, we're early," he corrected, shaking his head. "Really, you can slow down,"

The elves paused and exchanged looks before looking at Harry again.

"You're both from Hogwarts, aren't you?" I asked. They nodded before going back to work, moving slower on purpose. "Anyway, how do you not need advice? Or have you had a girlfriend that I've yet to hear about? You do know it's customary for you to get best friend approval from me, Ron and Hermione before the second date, right?"

"I don't need to have had a girlfriend to prove that I don't need advice," he said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, what makes you qualified?"

"I'm a girl, it's automatic," I answered, folding my arms as I sat down at the table. He sat down and rolled his eyes again. "You don't believe me?"

"Nope," he answered simply.

"Okay, so what do you think a girl would want to do on a first date?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow.

He hesitated. "Depends on the girl," I just gave him a look. "Alright, so probably to…maybe go flying…?"

"No,"

"Why? What's wrong with flying?" he frowned, acting as though I'd offended him.

"Most girls expect to go to dinner or something. If we were muggle, I'd say go see a movie but that's not an option," I answered. "And do you know why?"

"Because she'll want to get to know you," James answered coming into the kitchen and sitting down across from Harry and next to me. He and Lily must have come home when the moon set, though Remus was probably still wherever it was they kept him during full moons. "Are you giving him girl advice?"

"He thought that he didn't need any, I was just checking," I answered with a smirk.

"Does he need any?"

"Loads,"

Harry shook his head but said nothing as James and I laughed at him. Lily came into the kitchen and sat down on James' other side, looking from Harry to us and deciding that she did not want to know. She looked over at the house elves instead, one of whom practically flew over to the table with a coffee mug and placed it in front of her before going back to her partner's side.

"James, we need to get the elves to relax," she muttered. "They're going to overwork themselves," she added. James and I stopped laughing and Harry gave Lily a grateful expression before sticking his tongue out at me.

"I'll have Bambly talk to them," James answered, throwing one arm over the back of Lily's chair as plates appeared on the table along with food and utensils. "D'you think they'd take a vacation? That might get them to relax,"

"It also might freak them out," Harry added, pulling the plate of bacon towards his own plate. "Isn't work what makes them happy?"

"The Hogwarts elves aren't used to seeing people, though," I said. "They like to work behind the scenes most of the time. At least, that's what my dad told me,"

"Oh, sure they do, but by vacation I meant that maybe we should reduce what they have to do in front of us. They could always go to one of the other houses and make sure everything is all set with them," James explained while Harry and I exchanged wide-eyed glances. "What?"

"You said 'other houses'…how many houses do we own?" Harry asked carefully, as if bracing for a shock.

"Well, this is the family mansion where the head of the family and his wife and son always lived, daughter in my generation's case. Then there is the formal manor which is much larger than this house. It has three floors, an attic and basement, both of which are used for more than storage along with a ballroom, a library that's about twice as big as the one here, and a dining hall. That house is only for hosting things and it hasn't been used since…Merlin, my parents never used it so I have no clue, but we've been using the dungeons there for Moony's transformations. There's also the retirement house where you're grandparents would've moved to after you were a year old. It only has two guest rooms and the master bedroom along with everything else. And there's also the vacation house. It's like this mansion, but the master bedroom is split into two bedrooms and there is no library, office or potions lab," James answered, ticking the houses off on his fingers as he spoke.

"Your family owns four houses?" I asked, blinking in surprise. I wasn't even sure that Keena knew that.

James nodded. "But those don't include the properties of extended family or Godric's Hollow,"

"But your father's family must have been prominent too," Lily said, leaning forward so that she could see past James. "You should have seen the way Madame Malkin fell over herself the other day," Lily added to James and Harry. "It was similar to the way she treated Keena when she told her who I was marrying and her relation to it all,"

"But Snape was never a big family name," James frowned, turning to look at me. "Actually, your dad was the first one I'd ever heard of from that line,"

"That's because Snape is a muggle name," I answered, playing with my fork before stabbing a waffle and lifting it onto my plate and drowning it in maple syrup. "His mom was the witch," I added when I noticed that they were all staring at me to continue.

"So you gave her your grandmother's name?" Lily asked.

"It seemed better than Snape, considering it had been in the paper that morning. I just didn't think she'd be so…afraid," I answered hesitantly. "But it doesn't matter, the line is gone for all I know, I just won't use it again is all,"

"You could always use it to scare Malfoy off," Harry suggested with a smirk.

"Lucius?" James frowned.

"No, his son," I answered before filling my mouth with my syrupy breakfast.

"Although Kailey mentioned something about him this morning," Harry said, giving me an evil grin.

"Oh? Do you need boy advice?" James asked innocently.

I choked on my waffle.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Sirius and I came into the kitchen to see Kailey gripping the table tightly, panting, and Lily rubbing her back while Harry and James laughed. She looked up at Harry and gave him a murderous glare that silenced him immediately while James continued chuckling. Sirius sat next to Harry and I sat on his other side, still holding onto his hand. My mood had improved since waking up, but not by much. Today was not going to be a good day.

"Glad to see everyone so happy this morning," Sirius grinned and James and Harry started laughing again and Lily rolled her eyes.

"You should be glad to see us all alive," Lily corrected. I couldn't stop my breath from hitching for a moment. "Kailey nearly choked on her breakfast," she continued, not noticing my odd behavior.

"You would've too had you been told you need boy advice about Draco Malfoy," Kailey defended, glaring at Harry again, who stopped laughing and looked down at his own plate.

_Maybe Lily and I are rubbing off on her…_

"That's…that's just wrong," Sirius said before laughing himself. "Malfoy…repro—repro—having a kid!" he and James began laughing even harder and I bit my lip, giving Sirius' hand a gentle squeeze. He calmed down and so did James and I gave a mental sigh of relief.

"So, Lily, the potion?" I asked curiously. I was eager to see if I could make the transformation as fast as she had, though I would wait for the potion to cool before I drank it.

"It'll be ready after dinner," she promised.

"Will I be able to take it?" Harry asked, his tone a cross between excitement and nervousness.

"Only if you finish your spells by then; you need to go in order," she answered, shaking her head. "And if the living room is turned into rust again I will have to murder someone," she added giving Sirius and James each a glare. Both men acted as though they couldn't hear her.

Remus came home around midday and fell asleep in the living room while watching Harry and James work on the animagus spells again, Lily interrupting every few minutes. Kailey was going through her book again, this time with a quill and some neon colored ink she had found in a desk somewhere during one of her and Harry's exploration of the house.

I took a deep breath and nudged Sirius in the arm. He looked at me and nodded, standing up before helping me up as well. "Keena and I are going to head out for a bit," he said, addressing our surrogate family.

James asked the inevitable question. "Where are you going?"

"We haven't visited Godric's Hollow together in a while, we figure we should before September comes," Sirius answered evenly and James nodded in understanding.

"Take your time," Lily replied, giving me an encouraging smile which I attempted to return.

We left the living room and Sirius kept his arm around me as we headed for the apparation point. We entered the cemetery and found that it was cloudy and gray instead of sunny and warm like at Potter Mansion. I preferred it that way; it shouldn't be pleasant out for our first visit together, it would have seemed wrong. Weaving through the gravestones, I found myself growing calmer instead of nervous. We found her grave next to the graves of my now blood parents, but I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong.

"Sirius, her stone is different," I whispered, reaching out to touch the black writing on the gray marble. It was her name. It no longer only read _Aradia K. M. Black_, _April 17__th__ 1981. _The 'M' initial had turned into a 'P' and the date was different. I couldn't bring myself to think of what the message might mean, I couldn't make my mind understand the words. "What does it say?"

"It says _Aradia K. P. Black, First Birth April 17__th__ 1981, Second Birth August 1995_," he answered quietly. He turned to look at me, his expression of shock mirroring my own.

"She was supposed to be born in August, but we're in 1994," I murmured, my eyes growing misty in my confusion. "Why would her grave…you don't think someone would change it…would they?"

He shook his head, looking at her stone once more. "If this is a joke, I will kill whoever touched it," he answered, pulling me close to him. "Does this mean that Lily and James' graves are different?" he asked after a moment. I frowned, but looked over to the other side of the plot where Lily and James were supposed to be buried.

They read '_First_ _Death'_ instead of '_Died'_ like they had when I had last visited Aradia's grave, which had been about a year ago. I took out my wand and, after gaining a nod of approval from Sirius, switched the words back on the empty graves. It was better to be on the safe side.

"We need to tell the others about this," I said quietly, turning back to my daughter's grave. "I don't know how she could be born twice when she was never born at all,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

We were going to be heading out on the train the next day but Harry hadn't been able to drink the animagus potion yet. Keena and Sirius had come back from the graveyard the day before with strange and mixed expressions of confusion, sadness and a very tiny hint of hope. Harry and I hadn't been let on in what had taken place but that was hardly surprising. What was surprising was that Keena had decided to wait to take the potion another day. She said it was because she wasn't sure if she'd be able to focus enough for the transformation to work but Harry and I had exchanged looks of disbelief; Keena had been complaining about not being able to transform for weeks.

"I just know that I won't be able to handle the potion just now," she huffed at James and Remus, before heading to the kitchen with Sirius and Lily while the other two looked at one another, confused.

"What's up with her?" James wondered aloud.

"I haven't got a clue, she's your sister," Remus replied with a shrug before fixing Harry's wand movements.

James hadn't replied, but kept his thoughts to himself before continuing to help Harry.

We were currently taking a break from our various activities and Harry and I were being entertained by stories from Sirius and James. Keena was still being oddly silent and Sirius would glance at her with concern every few minutes. Remus and Lily were speaking quietly in a corner of the room, a book lying shut on the side-table next to her. I returned my attention to the story just in time for the punch line.

"Next thing he knew, his voice was squeakier than Flitwick's and his entire body had turned flamingo pink," James burst out laughing along with Sirius and Harry. I smiled a little and shook my head at the three of them.

"Did you ever get tired of coming up with new ideas?" Harry asked, readjusting his glasses, which had slid out of place when he had started to laugh.

James and Sirius just burst out laughing again and Keena answered. "Of course they didn't, they adored the attention and didn't care about detention,"

"But don't you go getting any ideas from any of this, Harry," Lily warned. I grinned and Harry stuck his tongue out at me. "You either, Kailey," she added, noticing our exchange.

I pouted before grinning. "I wouldn't dream of it, my dad would kill me,"

Lily looked at me doubtfully but said nothing more on the subject. "Harry, do you want to try your spells one more time?" she asked instead, moving from rule breaking to law breaking in one swift motion. It was clear that she wanted him to say no. Instead, he nodded eagerly.

"Do you honestly think I'll be able to do it right before school?" he wondered aloud.

"Even if you do, you are not allowed to transform at school," she informed him, looking at James for back-up. He was still reminiscing with Sirius and Remus. She sighed but Harry nodded in understanding.

They busied themselves again but Keena came over and sat down next to me. "I have a question for you," she said quietly. I nodded for her to continue. "You seemed nervous the other night when Dumbledore was here," she stated, glancing at me for a moment before looking away at the others again. "Something very clearly is going to go wrong this year, but I just was wondering if trusting Mad-Eye would be a mistake."

"Trust him with what?" I asked cautiously.

"Things about Voldemort," she answered in kind.

"Like the horcruxes?" I asked, becoming alarmed. "No, absolutely no, you can't tell anyone else about those," I answered quickly. "No one is supposed to know about them, even Dumbledore isn't supposed to have any clue where to find them yet,"

"Mad-Eye won't be able to tell us more?" she asked, surprise clear in her voice and expression, her eyebrows furrowed together.

"Nothing. No, that needs to stay between you, James, Sirius, Remus, Lily and Dumbledore. Nobody else. At all."

"But Mad-Eye—"

"Please, Keena, please, tell him not to say anything to Mad-Eye, I can't stop a death if I don't know it's coming," I pleaded quietly.

"Death?" she whispered. Suddenly there was a bright blue light that caused the two of us to jump as we turned to face Harry and the others.

He blinked and looked at his parents. "Was that it?"

James and Sirius both grinned, Remus rolled his eyes and Lily heaved a sigh. "Keena, do you want the potion now too?" she asked, standing to fetch some from the basement.

"Yeah, I'll take it now," she answered, standing to follow Lily out of the room, glancing at me for the briefest of moments. I could only hope that she would pass on the message.

**That's the end of this one; sorry it's shorter than usual! I'll get chapter eight up as quick as I can! Please review!**

**:-D**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Back to the Castle

**Only ones I own are Keena and Kailey and they're not worth anything…**

**I hope you like it!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Harry! Wake up! We're going to miss the train!" I shouted, banging on his door. We had five minutes to get ourselves to the only apparation point near the station. I had gone to bed at eleven thirty and he was still awake and trying to transform when I left him in the living room the night before. Lily had given up with her bedtime charade at the look of determination she was given from Harry when James laughed. Keena and Sirius had already gone up to Hogwarts this morning, Keena had courteously woken me up ten minutes ago before they left.

And now we had four minutes.

"Harry!" I shouted again.

James came down the hall with Remus, disguised as Johnny again. "Still not up?" he asked casually. I gave a sound of frustration as my reply. "Calm down, you won't miss the train."

"If he's not up, I'm making you take me to the station, Remus," I threatened. The two men just laughed at me and opened Harry's previously locked door with a flick of James' wand.

I shook my head and raced back to my room to make certain I hadn't left anything behind. I gathered up some quills and an extra bottle of ink and, after a moment's hesitation, decided that I would just leave them there along with a piece of scrap parchment. My bed had already been made, courtesy of Twinkie, and my trunk was already downstairs. I noticed a hair tie on my nightstand and, after shrugging to myself, pulled my almost obnoxiously long hair into a messy ponytail. I headed for the door and then paused before running back to my bed and grabbing my wand off of the pillow. I figured it might come in handy.

"What are you waiting for? We're going to be late!" Harry called into my room before racing down the stairs, me following, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at him.

"Finally, you two are going to be in so much trouble if you miss that train," Lily admonished as we skidded into the kitchen, Remus and James waiting for us. "Alright, Kailey, you'll come with me, Harry with your father and Remus if you could handle the trunks?"

Remus nodded and shrunk both trunks and pocketed them. "See you all at the station," he grinned as he disappeared.

I held onto Lily's arm, not even dreading the awkward sensation of being squeezed through a straw. We landed in an alley, next to Remus and James and Harry followed a second later. The trunks were normal sized again and we quickly found carts to push them in. James and Harry decided to have a race with the trunks while the rest of us followed, with less than two minutes to get to the platform.

The muggles muttered annoyances as we fled by them, but no one really paid us any attention as we raced to the platform. We jetted through the barrier with one minute remaining but didn't stop running as the train gave a warning whistle. Lily grabbed my hand and I grabbed the cart James was pushing and we snaked through the crowd next to Remus who had Harry and his cart. We raced over to the compartment that had a number of redheads surrounding it. Remus and James gave a shout to Bill and Charlie to move out of the way of the door.

I leapt onto the train first and Harry quickly followed as the train began pulling away.

"Our trunks!" I cried as Fred and George shoved their way to the door, yanking one of the trunks from Bill and James as they raced along the platform while the train picked up speed. They tumbled backward and Ron and Harry moved forward to grab a hold of the other trunk that Charlie and Remus were trying to get on board. They pulled it away from them just as the platform ran out and the train reached full speed.

"Must you two always cut it so close?" Hermione laughed at the boys and their panting.

"He overslept," I informed her, rolling my eyes at Harry who just shrugged guiltily.

"We made it," he answered as if it were nothing.

"Not all of us," I said, placing my hands on my hips with a smirk. He frowned.

"Damn. I forgot Hedwig,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"I swear, James put Dumbledore up to this, I just know it," Sirius growled as soon as he walked thru the door of our chambers. Sure, we had a small living room with a cozy fireplace, loveseat and couch as well as our own bathroom that happened to have a rather large hot tub inside of it, but he had bypassed the whole thing, heading straight for the bedroom at the far end of the living room.

I followed him in, rolling my eyes at his exclamation, and took my things out of my pocket and lifting the shrinking spells so I could begin putting everything away. "You could be thankful," I told him with a smirk.

"For what? We didn't get to do anything while we were at Lily and James' cabin because you were still partially fourteen, we couldn't do anything over the summer because there were two fourteen year-olds in the house along with Moony and his hyperactive werewolf ears and now we still can't do anything because the beds are too small for two people,"

Merlin, was he a man or what?

Smirking, I walked right up to him and began whispering in his ear. "Be thankful that there is a separate password to get into our bedroom along with the fact that we can jinx our door as much as we want, whenever we want. And be thankful that no one would ever know if we did put the beds together," I finished with a wicked grin.

He blinked before grinning, moving to shut the door.

"But," I said, holding up a finger. He turned and faced me with a look of mutiny. "I still want to wait," I finished, folding my arms.

"So we can't—"

"Nope,"

"Not even one—"

"Nope,"

He frowned before a calculating look overshadowed his face.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, cautiously, unfolding my arms and placing my hands on my hips.

"I was thinking that maybe," he paused, shutting the door behind him but still facing me. "Maybe, we could just snog for a while instead,"

"I'll have to think about it," I replied with a grin, turning away to finish unpacking when suddenly he came from behind and spun me around. We landed on the bed, enveloped in a kiss.

I was beginning to think about changing my mind when there was a cough from the doorway. We jerked away from each other and glared at the offending professor, but the redness of McGonagall's face just made me laugh. I suppose it was different than catching two teens snogging in a broom closet. Though, it could have just been because there was different lighting that I noticed her blush of embarrassment this time.

"Mickey, I don't want to be rude or anything, but could you knock or something?" I asked, shoving Sirius off of me and sitting up, running a hand through my hair.

"I did knock," she answered stiffly. "I just came to show you both to your offices," she informed us, adjusting her glasses so that they were back in a proper place so that she could see correctly.

"Do you mean we don't get to share?" Sirius asked, grinning wickedly when McGonagall's blush returned. I elbowed him in the stomach and her blush faded again.

"Won't I just use the same one that I had last time?" I asked, standing up and tugging Sirius along with me as McGonagall led us out of our rooms.

"No, the Headmaster has decided that you will use an old classroom with an attached office this time. Sirius will use your old office," she answered with a slight shake of her head. "They happen to be on opposite ends of the castle," she added for Sirius' benefit.

"That's okay, Mickey, I'll just come visit you instead," he replied brightly giving her a wink.

"Mr. Black," she warned giving him a look that clearly said I-will-give-you-detention-even-if-you're-not-a-student. Sirius' grin faded but only slightly as he proceeded to sling his arm across my shoulders as we walked.

We arrived at my office and classroom first. It wasn't as big as most of the school's rooms which led me to believe that that was the reasoning behind letting me use it. There was no teacher's desk and only a few long tables with about ten chairs surrounding them. At the far side of the room was a door which, when I opened it, led into an average sized office.

I looked around the room with a grin. "It's about time this school knew how to fill itself for me," I said, going over to sit at my desk. It was covered in pictures of the Marauders as we had been growing up (Wormtail had walked out of them all). There were also a couple pictures of Harry; one from when he was a baby, one of just me, him and Sirius, and another of him and his friends. The walls were lined with clippings from the war and afterwards. My Unspeakable Badge glistened on the wall next to my Auror badge, though no one could see the former unless I had personally informed them of everything I had done while working there. On the wall behind me, next to the wide window that held a view of the lake, was a tall bookshelf containing material of every subject in Hogwarts, even Divination.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, turning to face me after examining some of the newspaper clips that had come out after he had been imprisoned.

"We do not decide what to put in our offices at Hogwarts, the castle decides for us," McGonagall informed him. "The first two times Keena taught here the castle took the entire year to decide what to put in for her,"

"Why would it do that?" he asked, looking from McGonagall, who shrugged, to me.

"Probably because both of those times I was still part of Kailey so the castle had to figure out which of me to fill itself with," I answered, looking behind the chair and grinning when I noticed there was a large, soft cushion. No more bruising from falling out of my chair. Now that was something to look forward to.

"Brilliant! Can we go look at mine?" Sirius asked, acting like a five year old.

McGonagall brought a hand to her forehead and muttered something about headache potions and 'bloody Lockhart' before leading the way out of my office and back to the hallway. Twelve staircases and six hallways later we ended up in my old office. I was beginning to think that James and Dumbledore _were_ conspiring against us.

Sirius opened the door and went inside first, quickly taking a seat at his desk, me following closely. McGonagall told us both about a staff meeting that would be taking place in ten minutes time and hastily made a getaway. Apparently the idea of Sirius having an office at Hogwarts scared her.

Inside was a large, Gryffindor banner that hung over the doorway. The shelves along both walls were filled with Defense, Transfiguration and Charms books along with a book that contained newly invented spells that had been published just at the end of my Unspeakable career, meaning our inventions were in there. On his desk were duplicates of some of my photos along with some newspaper clippings that clung to the walls that weren't crowded by shelves. His Auror badge was also hung on the wall, directly over his chair so that it was the first thing you would notice as you walked inside.

"So, how do you like your office, Auror Black?" I asked, sitting on the arm of his chair.

"It's alright," he answered with a shrug, pulling me onto his lap. "I like our room better," he informed me, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, you had better get used to liking it in here too, we're here to work," I told him, trying to get up. "C'mon, we've got a staff meeting, we don't want to get a detention," I laughed. He pouted but we got up all the same and headed off to the teacher's room.

"We can't get a detention," he muttered.

"Speak for yourself, Mickey gave Remus and me one a couple of years ago for 'influencing her students'," I informed him.

He looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. "The Weasley twins?"

"Who else?"

The meeting lasted about two minutes, consisting only of reintroductions because Mad-eye was not yet at the castle, having gotten into trouble with the Ministry earlier this morning. The only interesting part was the look on Filch's face when Sirius was introduced as Auror Black, the school's new Auror, and the fact that Filch would not need to hand out as many detentions as usual. Mrs. Norris had hissed and streaked out of the room when Sirius and I walked in.

"Keena, if you and Sirius would wait a moment," Dumbledore requested as the rest of the teachers headed off to prepare for the first day of school. Sirius and I stayed seated where we were and Dumbledore shut the door, locked it and put up a silencing charm. "We need to discuss the location of the fourth horcrux," he stated.

"But you said you knew where it was," I frowned. "The other night," I added when Dumbledore shook his head.

"All I know is that it is in Hogwarts," he clarified.

Sirius nodded. "Now I understand, you only need me here so I can look around without seeming suspicious,"

Dumbledore nodded. "That is a part of it, but the other part is that I do have some concerns about student safety this year. It will be good to have three Aurors in the castle,"

"I'm not so sure, sir," I said slowly. "I know and trust Mad-Eye as much as you do, but…something that Kailey said…" I trailed off, not quite knowing how to explain.

"What did she say?" Dumbledore's blue eyes were fierce though his voice stayed soft and calm. It was like he fed off of the information that she gave out. I vaguely wondered if I should be concerned with that or not but decided to wonder more on it later.

"She begged me to make sure you didn't include Mad-Eye in this at all," I answered, rubbing the back of my neck and looking from a confused Sirius to a concerned Dumbledore. "She was just so…I don't know, she hasn't been herself recently. Every time anyone brings up Mad-Eye she gets nervous, it's so odd,"

"But she's never even met him, how could she be so afraid?" Sirius asked. "I know he's intimidating but still,"

I shook my head. "All I know is that she's forgotten a couple of things this year already. The way she was going through that book, highlighting things…Something is definitely going to be wrong with Mad-Eye," I finished, looking at Dumbledore.

He inclined his head and stroked his beard. "If it was so imperative that we say nothing of the horcruxes to him, then we shall not. I will tell Severus as well, but he distrusts the man already so I don't see that being a problem. Sirius, I want you to watch him, make certain that if you notice anything out of the ordinary that you let me know. I doubt he would turn Dark, but we must be cautious,"

Sirius nodded, twirling his wand in his hands, a habit he had picked up since the scare at the Quidditch Cup, as he thought everything over.

"Now, I know that neither of you are much for titles but that is not a choice to be made here. Sirius, the students will be introduced to you just as the teachers here were today; Auror Black,"

"Sounds younger than Mr. Black," Sirius shrugged. "And 'Auror' was never my father's name," he added after a moment with another shrug and a half smirk.

Dumbledore gave a light grin and shook his head, chuckling a bit before he turned to me. "Now, Keena, you are now a Potter by blood and people have already noticed that you have changed your appearance. We could have a story published in the prophet about some sort of blood ritual so that the students may without question call you Professor Potter,"

"Or," Sirius interrupted, sharing a grin with Dumbledore that left me confused. "You could just sign these papers that the house elves found at the Manor House when James sent them on their 'vacation'," he finished, giving me a large folder.

I just stared at the folder, not daring to open it. I looked up at the other two. "Are you…?"

"Just open it," Sirius said, pushing the folder closer to me on the table.

Hesitating, I slowly slid the papers out of the folder. Only they weren't paper, but very old parchment with a goblin seal at the very top left corner that marked it as an official document. The Potter crest was front and center of the paper, beneath it were words in elegant calligraphy that declared that Nathaniel and Jaime Potter were adopting Keena McIntosh. Their signatures were in their places, dated with the day before Mr. Potter's death. The only signature missing was my own.

"Could I have a quill and some ink?" I asked in a voice that was an octave below a whisper.

Dumbledore summoned a house elf that held a golden quill and permanent signature ink. I managed to keep my hand steady as I signed my name, adding the current date to the end of it. As soon as the quill left the parchment, the three signatures were engulfed in gold and scarlet bands of light before the calligraphy and cursive glowed white. After a moment the light faded and the parchment looked like new.

I looked up at Sirius and grinned happily as he kissed my forehead. "Well, you know what this means?" he asked.

"No, what?"

"Harry officially has to call you Aunt Keena," he smirked.

"Well, then, congratulations, Uncle Sirius," I retorted, Dumbledore and I laughing when Sirius scowled.

"Very good, I shall have this sent to Gringotts so that it's official signing may be documented by the Goblins and then you may have it back; I'm sure this is something you could put up in your office," Dumbledore smiled.

"Would my appearance have altered at all if I wasn't already a blood relative?" I wondered aloud.

"Probably," Dumbledore shrugged.

Sirius and I stood to go, Dumbledore following us, holding the adoption parchment.

"Oh, and by the way Sirius, James told me to remind you that Keena really is his little sister now and that if the beds are pushed together before the wedding he will have to…what was it he said? Ah, yes, 'beat the bloody life out of you so help me Merlin and Founders,'." Sirius and I exchanged wide-eyed glances before looking back at the pleasantly beaming headmaster. "Yes, we are conspiring against you," he added after a moment.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View_:

"Planning on entering it, then, Weasley?" Malfoy sneered, Crabbe and Goyle taking up the entire doorway of the compartment by themselves. They were probably stuck.

"Of course not, you idiot," I answered, moving to stand in front of Ron and crossing my arms. "Or did the minister fail to mention the age line to your father? Oh, wait, I forgot. Dumbledore only tells the very most important people about that. Guess your father doesn't make the cut," I smirked as Malfoy's face flushed.

"Keep out of this, Snape, nobody likes a traitor of the Slytherin house," he growled.

"Huh, that explains a lot about why people don't like your family," I retorted.

"For your information, my father was informed about your little plot with that oaf of a teacher," I frowned, loosening my arms a bit. "Oh, I forgot, your father probably doesn't like to talk to you about it, seeing as you went against your own family,"

"What the hell are you going on about, Malfoy?" Harry asked, standing next to Ron.

"The fact that Professor Snape wants to disown her for being such a goody-little Gryffindor; she's an insult to his family name," Malfoy finished, smirking at the look on my face.

Without thinking, I drew my wand and it was at the sniveling blonde's throat.

"What's the matter, _Macauley_, can't handle the truth that your own father doesn't want you?" he spat out, clearly underestimating my power with a wand.

"Get out, before you say something that you'll really regret," I growled, gripping my wand so that my hand wasn't free to throttle him.

He didn't reply but took the hint and nodded to his goons, who moved out of the way. As soon as they were gone, Ron walked by me and shut the door. The three of them stared at me as I put my wand back in my pocket and sat down.

"I swear, I'm going to kill him someday," I said after a moment.

"Tell me the day you do," Dean requested from his side of the compartment. I had forgotten the others were even there. "I'd like to see someone put that git in his place,"

Seamus and Neville nodded eagerly and I gave a weak smile.

The time came for us all to put on our robes and head out into the rainy night. We greeted Hagrid quickly before racing to the horseless carriages. I stared at the empty harness for a moment before shrugging it off and taking a seat between Harry and Hermione. The ride up to the castle was, thankfully, very fast.

The entire student body (minus the first years, obviously) were racing into the castle, a few people slipping on the wet stone now and again. The four of us finally made it through the large oak doors and began trying to dry ourselves off. I grabbed my hair and pulled it over my shoulder, wringing it out and creating a puddle on the floor when I noticed it felt like it was raining again.

"Ron!" Hermione cried when she noticed him shaking his hair out as well.

"Sorry," he apologized, trying not to laugh. "We're all soaking anyway—Kailey!" he shouted as I pushed him away, sliding on the floor along with him. The bright red balloon fell and soaked into my shoes.

We all looked up at the cackling Peeves, though he looked sour that I'd spoiled his fun.

"PEEVES!" McGonagall shrieked, skidding into the hall and losing her balance. Several students jumped aside as her hands flailed around wildly, looking for something to grab. She ended up catching Hermione's robes, who then lost her own balance and grabbed onto a nearby Weasley twin who managed to keep both witches from falling to the ground.

"I knew you liked me better than George, Professor, but honestly?" Fred asked, causing the observing crowd to laugh.

"If she liked you better then why'd she try to take you out?" George challenged as McGonagall began her tirade against the poltergeist.

"She fell for me, didn't she?"

"I hate to be the one to point it out, but she didn't grab either of you," I interrupted before stopping at the look Hermione was giving me. "Don't look at me like that," I muttered, walking beside her. "She was _supposed_ to grab you by the neck,"

Hermione rolled her eyes but said nothing as Harry and Ron sniggered.

We entered the hall and took our seats at Gryffindor table along with the rest of our housemates. I glanced at the stormy ceiling before looking over to the Head Table to find my father's face. He was looking everywhere but at me. I frowned, trying to ignore the voice in the back of my head that was telling me Malfoy had spoken the truth. I turned my eyes instead over to Sirius, who was sitting next to McGonagall's empty chair (most likely to her dismay), and Keena who was next to him. There was another empty seat on Dumbledore's other side which would later be occupied by the Moody imposter. I internally shuddered at the thought, still worried that he may have caught me staring at the Cup.

My eyes travelled back to Snape who this time honored me with a quick sneer. I frowned and turned back to my friends. "Did you see that?" I muttered to Hermione. The boys were talking about food to Nearly Headless Nick.

"See what?" she asked, glancing at the Head table then back to me.

"My dad, the look he just gave me," I answered, not daring to turn around though I could feel his gaze on me again. I felt an odd sensation in my head and turned to glare at him. _Get out of my head… _I thought fiercely. He raised an eyebrow but looked away and my mind felt better at once.

"I'm sure it's only for appearances sake," she soothed me. "He probably did say those things to Mr. Malfoy, but don't you believe them," she scolded.

"He doesn't have to be so convincing," I muttered, looking away from her.

"Yes, he does. You know he does, if anyone has the slightest suspicion that you could be used to get to him…" she trailed off into a whisper. "Don't make yourself a target; you know he loves you,"

I just nodded. "It'd just be so much easier if he hadn't been such a git when he was our age," I groaned, thunking my head on an empty part of the table just as the doors to the Great Hall opened wide.

McGonagall marched the first years up to the front of the room and stood beside the hat as it opened its mouth to sing. The song finished and the sorting began with a Ravenclaw followed by a Slytherin and Hufflepuff.

"C'mon, we need a Gryffindor," I heard Seamus mutter from a few seats away.

"Boot, Elizabeth!" McGonagall called.

Little Lizzie, one of the kids of the Marauders' friends, walked up to the stool and sat down, her face showing nothing but pure excitement. Moments later, the petite brunette was made into the first Gryffindor of the year as our table cheered loudly.

The sorting finally came to an end and Dumbledore stood to make the shortest speech that I'd probably ever hear from him before sitting back down and turning to end an argument that had struck up between McGonagall and Sirius.

"I swear, this food gets better every year," Ron stated after only three bites. Harry, who's mouth was very full, nodded beside him.

"Be thankful that there is a feast this year," Nick said. "Peeves was at it again in the kitchens, complaining about not getting to attend the feast,"

"Merlin, could you imagine?" I laughed. Nick chuckled and nodded his head.

"You should have seen the poor house elves, all in a stir,"

Hermione banged her hands on the table and I grabbed her goblet before it spilled all over everything, including the potatoes that I had been reaching for. "More elves?" she cried, ignoring the relief filled sigh I released as I supplied myself with the potatoes. "I thought they'd all gone to Potter Mansion?"

"Heavens, no!" Nick chuckled. "Hogwarts has the largest number of house elves in all of Britain!"

"They like to work, Hermione, relax," I said. "Now eat up, they'd be insulted if you didn't," I informed her. She looked at me in shock. "What?"

"You condone this—this—slave labor?!" she cried, pushing her plate away.

"Hermione, that's ridiculous," Ron said, shaking his head.

I exchanged a look with Harry as Hermione began to bristle against his statement.

_Here we go again… _

* * *

_Keena's Point of View_:

"Mickey, c'mon, what's one little bet?" Sirius grinned deviously.

"For the last time, Sirius, I do not gamble," McGonagall answered, her nose flaring.

"So you don't think that Hogwarts can win?" I asked innocently. She flushed.

"Of course I do! It would be unfair of me to accept his wager in any case," she answered. Dumbledore chuckled beside her, finishing off his desert.

"What do you think, sir?" I asked, leaning past my fiancée and former head of house.

"I think that it is time for announcements, though I will have to wait for formal introductions until Alastair arrives," he answered, dodging the question as he received expectant looks from both Sirius and Mickey.

He stood and the tables cleared and chatter ceased. "Welcome to another year! I have a few things to tell you. The first of which is that there is a new, elongated list of forbidden items, all of which may be found on the door to Mr. Filch's office. Secondly, I implore you all to remember to stay out of and away from the Forbidden Forest. Seriously, this is not a joke," I had to put a hand over Sirius' mouth to stop him from laughing. "And, thirdly, I regret to inform you that there will be no Inter-House Quidditch Cup this year,"

There was uproar from all four houses upon hearing this news and the Weasley twins were being particularly loud about the issue along with what appeared to be seventh year Ravenclaws.

"Do not fret, for there is good reasoning behind this decision, for this year I am pleased to announce that Hogwarts will be the host of—"

Suddenly there was a loud bang from the front of the hall. Everyone turned to watch as a grizzled, old man limped his way into the hall. His wooden leg sounded almost ominous against the stone floor. It didn't sound right, not the way I remembered it. I frowned and closed my eyes, listening to his footsteps.

"Sirius, that doesn't sound like him," I muttered, opening my eyes again. "I can't be certain, but…his footsteps, they sound different,"

"You sure?" he replied, his whisper hidden among the rest of the school's muttering.

"Almost," I answered, watching as Mad-Eye's wild blue eye wheeled around, looking over all the students before it stopped moving altogether as it landed on Harry. I shifted in my seat as he came closer to the table before finally reaching Dumbledore.

"Alastair," Dumbledore greeted quietly.

"Sorry to be late, headmaster, I got held up by them damn Ministry folk," he answered in his old, gritty voice.

"No matter, Alastair, no matter," Dumbledore said, gesturing for Mad-Eye to sit while snapping his fingers to summon a house elf who was no taller than the table. "Have the kitchens send up some food for Professor Moody, please," he instructed and the elf vanished with a nod.

Turning to face the students once more, Dumbledore raised his voice. "Might I introduce your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody," Dumbledore said. The applause failed to follow, even from the teachers. Sirius and I exchanged looks once more before turning our attention back to Dumbledore. "I would also like to introduce, or re-introduce as the case is for most of us, our school tutor who, as those of you who read the prophet this afternoon may have noticed was recently inducted into her former foster family, Professor Potter,"

I waved happily as the entire Gryffindor table erupted in cheers, quickly followed by the Ravenclaws then Hufflepuffs. Select few Slytherins clapped, but I caught one or two very hesitant smiles from the snake table. Once my applause died out, Dumbledore spoke again.

"I would also like to introduce the school's new position of Auror. I'd like you all to welcome Auror Black,"

The shock that followed this announcement was hardly noticeable as the kids from the Gryffindor table cheered loudly once more in excitement. The confusion was much more audible this time, however, and Dumbledore was quick to quell their curiosity.

"This position is being introduced this year as Hogwarts is going to be hosting a very old, very sacred tradition. The Triwizard Tournament has been reinstated."

There was complete silence for a moment before a Weasley twin made his opinion known. "You're joking!"

Dumbledore chuckled along with the rest of the Great Hall. "Well, no, but now that you mention it, I heard a rather good one over the summer about a hag, a witch and a troll,"

McGonagall cleared her throat and Dumbledore stopped short.

"C'mon, Mickey, let the man tell his joke," Sirius complained and the students laughed even louder at the look of fear Sirius gave when McGonagall presented him with a glare and a threat of detention.

"In any case, the Triwizard Tournament has not been active for the past few centuries due to the high death toll that previously haunted the competition. The competitors, students from Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, shall be selected by an impartial judge and the winner, in addition to brining his or her school honor and glory, shall be granted one thousand galleons. Due to the amount of danger as well as to the knowledge necessary to compete safely, there will be an age limit of seventeen,"

At this statement, all students from second to sixth year cried out in protest.

"This is for your safety," Dumbledore continued. "The champions shall be selected on Halloween and the students of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons shall arrive early on in October. Please do not waste your time entering if you are not of age and remember to treat our foreign guests well. That is all I have for you tonight, now off to bed you go before a bright year of learning and good sportsmanship!"

Still grumbling a bit, the students all made their way out of the hall, all except a group of girls who looked to be sixth or seventh years. They kept glancing back at our table. I frowned and looked up at Sirius who was continuing his earlier argument with McGonagall. The girls were quickly the only ones in the hall and I, being the jealous fiancée that I was, grabbed Sirius by the neck and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Wha—?" Sirius asked as I quickly pulled away to look back at the girls. They were speeding out of the hall, though one turned back to give me a look of utter loathing before heading out after her friends.

I turned back to Sirius, who still looked confused, and McGonagall, who looked utterly shocked. "You have been in this bloody castle with bloody hormonal teenagers for less than twenty-four hours and already you have yourself another bloody fan-club!" I cried, throwing my hands in the air. "What do you have to say for yourself?" I accused.

"Um…I love you?" he answered, leaning towards McGonagall.

"Humph," was my reply as I folded my arms across my chest.

_Here we go again..._

**There's the end of this one! If you liked it, review it! I'll get chapter 9 up ASAP! Happy belated Thanksgiving! And Happy Holidays!**

**:-D**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Moody

**Just because we're back at Hogwarts again doesn't mean that I suddenly own this. What it hopefully does mean is that I'll get some reviews…? If you like it, let me know, kay? Enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"First pus, then those creepy little screwt things and now I've got to deal with an old bat who hasn't seen me since my disappearing act," I grumbled to Harry and Ron as we made our way up to the North Tower. We were taking the long way up, which in hindsight wasn't our best idea because it meant more stairs.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll be so focused on competing with you that she'll forget to teach us anything," Ron said brightly.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah that sounds real lucky to me,"

"I think he meant 'we' as in him and I," Harry answered sharing a grin with Ron.

"Nice," I said sarcastically.

"No problem," Ron answered with a slight bow as we reached the bottom on the last staircase. "Out of curiosity, what in Merlin's name was Hermione in the library for?"

"Trust me, Ron, you don't want to know," I answered, shaking my head and ignoring Sir Cadogan's portrait as he chased after us, his fat pony stuck in its own frame.

We finally reached the top of the stairs and I was beginning to think up ways to screw around with Trelawney's head without being too obvious. It was always fun messing with her and over the summer my taste for pranks and jokes had only grown. I could always make a false prediction of some sort…

The sickly sweet and thick perfume of the classroom was almost overwhelming in the heat of the dying August air. Ron, Harry and I sat in our poufs around the small table and it was an instant battle for me to stay awake. The bejeweled bug made her spooky introduction just as she always did, not even making Neville jump as she began a tirade about the future and the miseries it held for us all. Never mind the fact that we'd be miserable next year due to Umbridge, I was still annoyed with the old bat.

_Maybe I should start thinking ahead on ways to get Umbridge fired early on…a detention with the pink piranha does not sound ideal to me…maybe I'll just turn her blue for starters and go from there…_

"…yes, certainly a great struggle for you both this coming year," Trelawney's breathy voice suddenly sounded much closer than it had when I'd zoned out. I blinked twice when I realized she was staring at my table. "You, Ms. Snape, you harbor great fears and be warned; only you have control over the situations at hand, if you think otherwise you may turn…blue."

_Well, then, blue it is…_

"I'll keep that in mind, Professor," I answered distractedly.

Satisfied with my half-done answer, she began informing us on our new planetary assignments. She explained that each planet held influence over our lives depending on when we had been born. I would have been interested except she began telling Harry about how tragedy young in life and dark hair meant he was born in the winter.

"If he's a winter, I'm an autumn," I muttered to Ron as she turned away, ruffled in embarrassment. He sniggered and Harry rolled his eyes at us before tossing a planetary chart to each of us.

I took one look at it and looked back up at the boys. "Why am I still in this class?"

"Because it requires no actual work," Ron answered with a shrug.

The class ended on a false note where Trelawney managed to assign more homework than McGonagall ever had on the first day of school due to Ron's crude sense of humor. I was not happy.

"Sure she's an annoying old wench, but why'd you have to go and goad her like that?" I groaned as we headed down to the Great Hall.

"I didn't think she'd hear me," he shrugged, still looking annoyed with the Professor.

"I didn't think she'd hear you," Harry replied, shaking his head. "Honestly, it's like she hardly ever hears anything anyway,"

"You shouted it," I reminded them both. "Even Binns would've done something,"

"Done something about what?" Hermione asked, out of breath as she came to walk with us. "He never does anything,"

"Trelawney's loaded us with homework," Harry informed her. "Mostly because she caught Ron mouthing off in class,"

"Thanks mate," Ron answered.

"She would've found out anyway," Harry replied with a shrug while Hermione rolled her eyes at me.

"You psychic too, Harry?" I asked with a smirk.

"Nope, that's not my job," he answered with a smirk of his own and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

The four of us turned to see Malfoy sauntering over to us, being followed by Crabbe and Goyle, and holding a copy of what seemed to be the Daily Prophet. They stopped a good five feet away from us; all three of them smirking like they'd heard a good joke. The crowded entrance hall seemed to slow down as people looked over to see what was going on.

"What?" Ron answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Just thought you'd like to know what an embarrassment your family is to the wizarding world," he answered, fanning himself with the newspaper.

"What are you on about, Malfoy," Harry asked angrily before Ron could reply.

"Shall I read it to you?" he asked, shaking out the paper so that he could properly see the story. A few students perked up in curiosity as Malfoy cleared his throat.

"No need, Malfoy, we wouldn't want you to embarrass yourself by having your house elf read for you," I answered, smirking when some of the crowd sniggered. "Oh, damn, I forgot, your father managed to lose your elf after abusing him. What a shame, being tricked into losing good old Dobby," I added with a false tone of remorse and snapping my fingers as I shook my head.

The students closer to the center of the circle surrounding us laughed loudly at this and Malfoy flushed in embarrassment, crumpling his newspaper as his fists clenched.

"That elf was a disloyal piece of garbage that—"

"Oh, is that what your father told you?" I asked quickly, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Really, Malfoy, you need to learn how to let go of mommy and daddy,"

"I suppose you would know all about that, wouldn't you, Snape? Has your father even spoken to you since you got back here?" he challenged, his usual sneer back in place.

"What about your mum, Malfoy?" Harry asked him and Ron having grabbed a hold of my robes to keep me from going at him. Again. "She always look like she's got dung under her nose or was it because you were there?"

"Don't you insult my mother, you orphan! No, wait, you've got your alcoholic aunt and that convict of a godfather now, don't you?" he corrected himself.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Hermione answered. "C'mon guys, he's not worth it," she added, turning us away.

"Sure, you get to say that cause you punched him already," I replied, a little louder than necessary, and the crowd around us began laughing again.

Suddenly there was a sound like gun fire and I whipped around, wand out and ready to fire when a second sound erupted along with a gritty shout.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"

I looked over to see the Moody imposter limping towards the center of the crowd, wand out and aimed at the little, white Malferret. Where was a camera when you needed one?

"What's going on in here?" the crowd parted on the other side of the hall and Sirius stopped short, staring at the ferret.

"Reflexes a little slow still, eh, Auror Black?" Moody replied instead of answering.

Sirius' posture didn't shift, though he raised an eyebrow at the gravelly wizard in front of him. "No, boss, I was dealing with two seventh years two floors up. What did I miss?"

"Your godson was almost defaced by this slimy coward,"

"The ferret?"

"Aye,"

"Surly you're not insinuating a bird would get the better of Harry?"

"Course I'm not," Moody replied, casually lifting the ferret into the air only to bring him plummeting down again.

Sirius took out his own wand and halted the bird just as it was about to hit the ground a second time. "Whatever happened to 'transfiguration is a weapon for the weak'?"

"Can't kill a student, can I?"

At this statement the hall immediately began clearing and Sirius looked stunned. "I think I'll take it from here, Professor," he answered, the switch from 'boss' to 'professor' was clear.

Moody shrugged and limped his way into the hall, nodding at Harry and giving me a pat on the shoulder. Hermione frowned after him while Ron turned to look between Harry and myself in confusion. I looked back over to see Sirius had transfigured Malfoy back into a human and was making sure he didn't have a concussion. The four of us made our way over to Sirius in case we needed to defend ourselves against Malfoy.

"I'm fine," Malfoy ground out, trying to move past Sirius, who grabbed him by the arm.

"Well, if that's the case, I'll just let Snape know you're to serve detention then, shall I?"

"You don't even know what I did," Malfoy argued.

"He may be slightly mental, but I don't need to be an Auror to figure out whatever happened started because of this newspaper," he answered, pointing to the crumpled paper that lay on the ground, the Burrow and eldest Weasleys' picture facing up. Malfoy grumbled and stalked off into the Great Hall. Sirius shook his head after him before turning to us. "I don't think you'll question me for telling you lot to keep away from Moody,"

We just shook our heads and he nodded, gesturing for us to go in for dinner. We sat at Gryffindor table, not too far from the Head table, and immediately began discussing Moody's reaction. Well, the other three discussed, I just kept quiet.

"That was horrible," Hermione stated before attacking her food.

"I don't think he realizes what the appropriate punishment would be yet; I mean he was an Auror, the best of the best, during the war. My dad said he never got over all the paranoia," Ron supplied, eyeing Hermione's speed eating with a mixture of worry and praise.

Hermione gulped her food quickly before answering. "I just think it's a good thing Sirius was so close; Malfoy could have really gotten hurt,"

"It's probably just as good a thing that Moody was there; I doubt we could've held you back for much longer, Kailey," Harry informed me, shaking his head. "You can't let him get to you,"

"Yeah, I know," I muttered, shaking my head. "It only bothers me 'cause he's right,"

"It will get better," Hermione informed me, managing to talk coherently around her food.

"No, no it won't. Not by the end of sixth year anyway," I mumbled to my plate.

_Unless somehow Dumbledore doesn't die…as long as dad doesn't switch sides and kill him that is…_

"You don't know that for certain," Harry argued.

"Know what for certain?" George asked, sitting down along with Fred and Lee.

"Kailey's dad hasn't spoken to her since she got back," Ron answered after Hermione failed to take up her cue. She downed the rest of her drink and all but sprinted out of the hall, not bothering to say where she was going after giving me a nod. "What's up with her?"

"She's Hermione; Hermione studies." I answered with a shrug.

"Studies what? She can't have homework already," Harry asked, looking after her towards the entrance hall.

"I don't know, just studies I suppose,"

"Wait until you start studying for DADA," Lee told us excitedly.

"Why?" Ron and Harry chorused.

"Because, he's seen it all," Fred answered with a roll of his eyes.

"Seen what?" Ron asked.

"And done it all too," George added.

"Done what?" Harry pursued.

"_Everything_," Lee answered, leaning towards the boys. "He lived through that war and managed to come out in one piece!"

"Pieces," I said abruptly. They all turned to stare at me with raised eyebrows. I rolled my eyes at them. "Oh, come on, did none of you notice the chunk of his nose that was missing?"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Mickey, please explain to Severus that he can't send a student to the tutor office after one period of class," I complained to McGonagall. It was dinner after the first day of classes and three students had already come to see me about tutoring. All of them claiming Snape had sent them along.

"Keena, if Severus feels that that is best for them—"

"It was one period out of a double session, Mickey,"

"Be that as it may—"

"Mickey. It was a first year."

She raised her eyebrow and turned to Severus, who was sitting on her other side, and just stared at him. He stared back at her for a moment. "I am entitled to teach any way I please," he stated after the quickly lost staring contest.

"You might want to try teaching them first," I informed him. "You never know, your speech might've scared the poor kid off,"

"What's this? Severus scaring kids? I don't believe it," Sirius said sarcastically, sitting down between myself and Dumbledore who was conversing with Flitwick.

Severus shook his head and returned to his meal in silence, choosing to ignore Sirius altogether. It was probably better that way; I don't think Kailey and Harry would very much appreciate an argument between the two.

"So who would you believe would scare a kid then, Sirius?" I asked, brushing his hand away from my plate.

"I'll tell you what I didn't expect," he answered, his voice going low.

"A Gryffindor seventh year dating a Slytherin seventh year?"

"Well, maybe that too," he replied, raising an eyebrow in question.

"They didn't know my classroom wasn't unoccupied anymore," I answered with a snigger. "Sorry, I interrupted, what didn't you expect?"

"I didn't expect Mad-Eye to transfigure a student and claim that was the next best thing to killing the kid," he replied, whispering in my ear.

"Are you sure that was him? He always hated transfiguration. And murder! Wouldn't kill a guy unless he had no choice," I whispered back in shock. "He wasn't that far off his rocker when he retired; he quit because he was sick of Fudge, nothing more,"

Sirius just shrugged in reply. "I'm going to let Dumbledore know and I told Harry and the others to stay away from him when possible,"

"Good," I answered, nodding my head. "Hopefully that will be all it takes, he gets curious you know,"

"I know, and I don't like it one bit," he answered, stabbing a piece of steak on his fork, glancing at Harry and his friends for a moment before returning his gaze to me.

"What?" I asked, feeling a blush at his continued stare.

"It's just…you never mentioned how much danger he always seems to be in,"

I laughed. "This? This is nothing compared to the stone or the chamber," I laughed again before shaking my head. "I'm just thankful that that's all we need to worry about this year, I mean it isn't as though he can get entered into that tournament, right?"

He grinned, stifling his bark like laugh before beginning to eat. He swallowed and nodded. "Thank Merlin for that,"

Neville came into my class before the bell had even rung for his potions lesson the next day and it was all I could do to keep myself from laughing.

"Glad to see you again, Neville," I grinned, not bothering with the surname business; I'd seen him enough times second year to be rid of that formality. "Severus didn't bother trying today?"

Neville shook his head and let a small smile sneak out. "I don't think he wants me to melt another cauldron," he replied with a shrug. "Besides, I like it better this way,"

"Well, I'm not here as a get out of class free card; it's just for this first week that teachers are sending students straight over. And by teachers, I mean Professor Snape," I added, pulling ingredients out of a store cabinet that sat next to the wall. "So, have you had Professor Moody yet?" I asked as he set up his cauldron and the fire.

"No, we've got him tomorrow," he answered, lighting the fire on his second try. I smiled, the first time I had helped him with potions it had taken several minutes to get the fire going. "Everyone seems excited about it, though,"

I shrugged. "He's a little quirky, but I wouldn't be surprised if he overdid on the first lesson. He taught Sirius—um, Auror Black, when he was training to become an Auror. Always doing something odd, that man,"

Neville paused, reading the instructions carefully before setting the temperature of the fire. "As long as he doesn't start us off with something scary,"

"Like what?" I asked, checking to see that his measurements were accurate before nodding for him to begin adding in toad eyes.

"Curses," he answered after a pause.

I took out my wand and froze the potion for a moment and Neville looked up at me in confusion. "Neville, has your grandmother ever told you any stories about your parents?"

He hung his head. "You know, don't you?"

"I do. It isn't something to be ashamed of, Neville," I added when he looked back up. "They were so brave and they wouldn't want you to be miserable for them, they were too happy for that,"

"How well did you know them, Professor?"

"Not as well as I would have liked, but well enough to know a few good stories," I answered with a grin in response to his curiosity. "I'll tell you what, we'll finish this potion and do it well enough that Snape is jealous of my superior teaching abilities and then I'll tell you about the time your father proposed."

"Gran already told me that one," he answered, shaking his head.

"Trust me, Neville, she did not tell you how it actually happened," I grinned, restarting his potion.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View_:

Harry and Ron dragged me to the Defense classroom early along with the rest of our house before our first class. I did my best to hide my hesitancy and I was glad Hermione wasn't with us at the moment because she certainly would have noticed even though neither of the boys did. I sat between Hermione and Neville in the front row thanks to Harry and Ron. I didn't bother to take my book out and left my wand alone in my pocket, laying my head down on the desk, listening past the silence for the sound of a wooden leg.

The bell rang and the blue-eyed professor limped up to the front of the room and I sat up as he began to take roll-call, his normal eye staying on the paper while his blue one whizzed around the room. He did not pause at Harry's name, which oddly made me feel a bit better, though he did stop at mine, giving himself enough time to look at me with both eyes. But it was so fast; I had to have been wrong. I was being paranoid.

With the number of times I had gone over the book, I could have said his speech word for word and was the only one who failed to jump a foot in the air when he yelled 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE', after removing the Imperius curse from the spider. I regretted not moving when his blue eye stared at me again but maybe he thought it was just odd that I hadn't reacted like everyone else.

"Who knows of another one?" he asked, continuing to keep his blue eye trained on me, and I looked down, unable to raise my hand though Neville and Hermione both did. "You there," he said, pointing a gnarled finger at Neville.

"The…Cruciatus Curse, sir," he answered, his voice sounding small.

Both of Moody's eyes stopped staring at me as he looked at Neville, who looked as though he regretted speaking. "Your name is Longbottom?" was all he replied. Neville nodded, staring at the professor in confusion. "Right then, well, this one'll need to be bigger for you to get the picture,"

After enlarging the spider, I heard Ron slide his chair back into the table behind us and I looked away from the arachnid, not wanting to see it twitch and suffer.

"Snape, you'll have to look over here to see it," Moody barked and I raised my eyes to the table again, wincing a bit at the reprove. "_Crucio!_" he muttered and my eyes wouldn't tear away, like they were watching a train wreck.

Finally, I looked over at Neville just as Hermione screamed for Moody to stop. Neville's grip on the table looked uncomfortable and his face was whiter than Sir Nick's.

"Pain," Moody whispered and I placed my hand over Neville's and felt him beginning to relax. "No words for it, it was just as popular as the other,"

The silence in the room was deafening as everyone avoided eye contact with either of our new professor's eyes. "Anyone know of another?"

Hermione hesitated so this time I did raise my hand and Hermione kept hers in her lap, shooting an almost appreciative glance my way as Moody told me to answer. "_Avada_ _Kedavra_,"

A couple of people looked over at me in horror, some in confusion and others just didn't look up at all. Moody nodded, lifting the third spider from the jar and gently placing it on the desk. Even though I closed my eyes, I could still see the flash of green light and failed to react when I heard Ron's chair slam into the ground.

"No counter curses," his gravelly voice stated. "Nothing but that rush of death and none but one has survived it. One who is sitting in front of me,"

No one said a word and we all pretended not to look at Harry as his face heated up in embarrassment. I began to wonder vaguely how it felt to die. James and Lily might still remember but I doubt that they would appreciate it if I asked. I wouldn't have doubted that Harry wondered about it to, what it felt like to die that is.

"…I doubt I'd get more than a nosebleed," Moody was saying when I finally got myself to listen again. "But I'm not here to teach you the curse, but you need to know what you're up against. No evil wizard will ever pause the duel to let you know what curse he's going to aim at you next. You need to know the worst. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" this time I managed to jump and now I was fully back into the class. He explained more on the Unforgivables, not showing us anymore, only giving us notes to copy down.

I didn't look up again until the bell rang and I blasted out of the room, keeping up with Neville knowing that the others would catch up to us quickly. I didn't really want Moody alone with Neville, even though I knew he'd be alright.

"Neville?" I asked just as his fast-walk slowed a pace. "You going to be alright?"

"What? Of course! Just spiders, nothing real, you know," he answered quickly.

The others still hadn't caught up and I bit my lip. "You're lying," I muttered. He opened his mouth to argue but I beat him to it. "It's alright, I don't need to know your business, but if you ever want to talk to me about whatever this is, I'll listen," I offered.

He looked as though he was considering it as we started walking at a faster pace again. "Thanks, Kailey, but really, I'll be okay. Really," he insisted before running off ahead of me. I stopped and tilted my head to the side, wondering who he was off to see at such a fast pace.

"Kailey!" Hermione called and I turned to see the three of them weaving through the crowd of students from our class to catch up. "Where did Neville go?" she asked when they finally reached me and we began walking again, still heading towards the Great Hall.

"I'm not sure…" I answered quietly. "Not where I thought he was going, that's for certain."

"Did you…?" Ron began, trailing off when I shook my head.

"I only asked him if he needed to talk about something. He said he'd be fine. I got the impression that he was heading off to talk to someone else," I shrugged, adjusting my bag.

"What does he need to talk to anyone about?" Harry wondered. I just shrugged.

"He didn't want to explain it, whatever it was," I replied. "I wasn't about to pry into his business," I added as an afterthought, straining my ears to see if I could detect the thumping of a wooden leg somewhere in the crowd. I did.

"Ms. Snape!" I couldn't help my insides from freezing up and I turned around to face Moody's scarred and deformed features. I worked very hard to keep my face blank and innocent as I looked over at him, the other three stopping around me as well.

"Yes, Professor?" I asked in reply, thanking Merlin and the Founders that my voice wasn't shaking.

_I knew it, he's caught me…he saw me at the cup…I shouldn't've stared…I shouldn't've let him get away…There's no way to get out of this now…why didn't I tell anyone…? Who cares if Voldemort doesn't come back the same way…? Merlin, this is so bad…so bad…_

"Are you alright, lassie?" he asked and I had to count in my head to stop myself from stiffening. I only nodded my head in reply. "Would you mind coming back with me to the office? I noticed you did not pay full attention today and I'd like to be certain you attained all of my information."

My head was reeling as I thought up the quickest excuse I could think of. "My father was kind of expecting me, sir; maybe we could catch me up on the bits I might've missed a different time?"

"No, no, your father is a professor, he'll understand that school comes first," he insisted and I shifted the weight of my bag to keep from shaking. _I have to get out of this…I have to get out of this…I don't care if I'm paranoid, I have to get out of this…_

"I understand, sir, but you see I was planning on checking my notes with Hermione; we usually help one another out in the first week of school to make sure we both have a solid foundation," I replied, concentrating on not backing down and keeping my voice calm.

"Ms. Snape, I insist. I'd rather you get the notes from the source than second hand," he answered, his gravelly voice sounding friendly and inviting.

"I'd hate to interrupt your dinner, sir," I tried again, praying to every deity I'd ever heard of that one of them would figure out I was stalling on purpose and get some sort of help. Preferably Dumbledore, Keena, Sirius, my dad or all four.

"Really, now, Ms. Snape, it's no trouble. You three go on; she'll catch up," he finished, taking hold of my upper arm and leading me back towards his office.

I looked over my shoulder at them, all three maintaining confused expressions. "Save me a seat?" I requested and Hermione nodded before heading off to the Great Hall with the other two in tow.

We got back to his office far faster than I would've expected for someone with a limp to do. He shut the door behind us and told me to take a seat. I looked around, taking in the broken foe glass and the whirring Sneakoscope, still whistling. He limped over to the other side of the desk and took a seat, taking out his wand as he did so…

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I was heading from my office to the Great Hall when someone shouted my name. I turned to see Harry, Ron and Hermione all racing towards me, all three looking panic stricken. I met them half way, my wand already out.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's Kailey, Moody made her go back to the office with him and she made up all these excuses and he wouldn't budge and now we don't know what's going on but we think she's in trouble because Sirius told us to stay away from him whenever we could," Harry explained in a rush.

"Alright, go to dinner, act like nothing is wrong. Sirius and I will go and get her. Don't panic," I told them sending off a patronus which headed off down the corridor.

Sirius met up with me half a corridor from the office, not far from a favorite broom closet and we headed for the office, still no sign of Kailey. We were in sight of the door when it swung open, revealing a smiling Kailey and a chuckling Moody. In her hands was a book which she was stuffing into her bag along with parchment and a quill.

"Professor Potter, Auror Black, what are you two doing down here?" she asked as they came closer to us.

"The twins told us there was a disturbance of some kind down this corridor," Sirius answered. "You two haven't heard anything, have you?" he added, quickly hiding his confusion.

"Course not, what did I always tell you, Auror? Constant vigilance! That's the key, right there," he growled out shaking his head.

"We wouldn't've bothered checking it out, but the headmaster doesn't want to risk the shepherd who cried wolf scenario." I explained when Kailey looked at me questioningly. "Well, we might as well head back then, if you haven't heard anything, Professor," I shrugged and Sirius nodded.

"I'll leave her with you two then and check on this disturbance," Moody replied. "I'm having the elves fetch me dinner tonight in any case," he added.

"Good night, then, Professor," Sirius said and Kailey and I bid him goodbye as well.

When his limp was no longer heard and we were just outside the entrance hall, Sirius and I stopped her. "What?" she asked, looking at us in curiosity.

"Kailey, what did I tell you about staying away from him?" Sirius asked, working hard to keep his anger in check.

"He only wanted to make sure I got all of the notes," she answered, confusion plain in her face. "Wouldn't that have made him suspicious if I'd said no?"

I folded my arms and looked at Sirius. "She's right," I muttered. "But next time, try a little harder to get out of it, will you? He's not been himself lately and until we figure it out you're not to go near him,"

She shrugged and headed into the Great Hall, leaving Sirius and I staring at one another in confusion.

"We need to keep an eye on her," I stated, my arms still folded and Sirius nodded.

"She knows too much," he added quietly and I sighed, nodding in agreement. "I'll make sure she doesn't start acting odd as well." He promised and I sighed.

"I'm going to write to Moony," I told him, referring to all three of our missing Marauders. "He needs to stay informed too,"

Sirius sighed and wrapped his arm around my waist and we headed into the Great Hall, putting on our carefree masks once more.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: Flashback_

"Now, no one needs to know about our little…discussion," Moody told me, twirling his wand. I eyed it nervously, feeling the sweat that had accumulated on the back of my neck, not knowing what to do or how to react. He had my wand and all I had was a book on gillyweed. "_Adustum_ _specialo_!"

I gasped as an icy feeling curled inside my head and wrapped itself around my tongue. I grabbed at my throat as it was followed by a flash of burning and then it was gone. "What did you—?"

"_Obliviate_!"

**That's it for this chapter! Remember, I can't answer a question if you don't ask! Up next is chapter 10! Until then! Have a happy start to your holidays!**

**:-D**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Too Easy

**Disclaimed.**

**Here we go! Enjoy!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Headmaster, we can't let him stay here." Sirius stated.

The three of us were in Dumbledore's office, silencing shields up and the password on the gargoyle freshly changed, not that it was ever all that hard of a password to guess at, though we figured it would take longer for someone to stumble upon 'blood pops' than anything else. Fawkes was sitting on my lap and Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk while Sirius paced back and forth. The portraits on the wall were being unusually silent, none of them knowing quite what to say and they'd given up pretending to be asleep for the night when they'd heard the words 'Voldemort', 'imposter' and, my least favorite, 'we must do nothing'.

"I understand your concern, Sirius, but there is nothing I can do. Kailey has yet to report to me about a definitive time and I am not about to give anyone suspicion about happenings we are not certain of," the ancient headmaster restated. His argument was lacking in variety tonight.

"Headmaster, she's forgotten so much lately, how do we know that there is no threat? You know Mad-Eye; he'd never transfigure a student, no matter whose son he was," I said, hoping this time he'd listen. "I don't care if it turns out we overreacted, just so long as we haven't _under_ reacted,"

"You yourself told me that she has read and reread all of her source multiple times and even gone so far as to make notes. I trust her,"

"She's _fourteen_," Sirius said, emphasizing the number. "Just last year you didn't trust a word she said, either of them," he amended, pointing at me. "You asked us here to keep an eye on things in the castle and we're doing so. Are you going to react or not?"

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard before sighing heavily, shaking his head. "She is fourteen, but she understands this; Voldemort needs to return in order to be properly destroyed. Even if we were to abolish the remaining horcruxes today, he would not die. Harry is the only one who can truly kill him."

"Okay, fine. But does that mean we give him the upper hand and let him come back today?" Sirius was fuming and Dumbledore's expression grew troubled. "All I'm saying is she's been terrified of the very _idea_ of the man all summer and suddenly she's in his office discussing class material and having tea? She doesn't even like tea! It makes no sense at all, sir,"

"Sirius, Keena, please try to understand this. We have the advantage so long as Voldemort does not know about Kailey. We cannot afford to lose her."

"I think I get it," I murmured, looking down at Fawkes who tilted his feathered head in confusion. Dumbledore looked relieved and Sirius looked appalled. "No, I truly do. She's nothing more than a bargaining chip; she's the queen on your chess board and Harry is the king. So long as she's around, you think he's protected along with the rest of your players. Well, I've got news for you, Professor, Voldemort _knows_." I finished in a growl, glaring at the headmaster.

He frowned, making no move to interrupt me as I stood to leave, Fawkes fluttering up to my shoulder as though he planned to come with me. "What?"

"He knows. He's known about me and her since he came to Godric's Hollow. Why else would I have survived? He knows that she knows the future. She's no secret weapon anymore; if he gets a hold of her she becomes a liability,"

"How could he possibly know that?" Sirius asked, frowning.

"The damn dementor; you both know they can perform legitimacy, it _told_ him about me," I answered angrily. "That's why he didn't kill me that night; he was hoping to use us,"

Dumbledore sat back in his chair as the portraits erupted in confusion and anger.

"And you're just telling him now?" "How could you not have seen that coming?" "Dumbledore, this is ridiculous!"

"So what are you going to do now?" the portrait of Sirius' ancestor asked, standing up in his frame. "If you're going to behave like a Gryffindor, act now, but if you're going to act like a Slytherin, don't act, _wait_."

"Are you crazy?" Sirius and I both cried at the portrait. He raised an eyebrow at us and shook his head.

"You must wait. Act normal and give the Dark Lord no reason for suspicion. You know his plan and he can't get into the castle unless that Snape girl forgets again. Even if she does, I'm sure you'll figure something out in time, if nothing else, I'd like to think some of my genes were passed down the line," he replied, sitting back down while the other portraits continued complaining.

"You want us to just sit here and wait for something to go wrong?" Sirius asked, turning back to Dumbledore who was nodding his head.

"There is nothing else we can do, we must behave as if we know nothing," he looked tired but there was still a glint in his blue eyes. "So long as Alastor suspects nothing, he shall do nothing rash."

"And if he does do something?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"We shall have to be ready,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

We entered Defense one day and I had a very strong feeling in the gut of my stomach telling me to just turn and run. Sure, I'd had the feeling ever since laying eyes on the imposter professor, but this time it just felt stronger than the others. Not wanting to alarm the others, I said nothing about it as we assumed our seats and took out our notebooks, ready to start taking notes.

"Kailey? You alright?" Hermione asked, gently as though not trying to alarm me.

"Yeah, fine," I answered, nodding. They had all interrogated me extensively after our first lesson when Moody had called me back to his office. I had been nervous but he hadn't figured out who I was, he just wanted to let me know that if my dad ever did anything suspicious I should go and talk to him. "I've just got this feeling," I admitted when she didn't look away.

"Again?"

I nodded and bit my lip. "I'm sure it's nothing," I added hastily just as the door open and the wooden clunking resounded around the room.

Limping to the front of the room, Moody turned around and faced us all, both eyes traveling around the room. "You can put all of that away," he grunted. "And stand up,"

We all did so and he moved all of the tables and chairs to one side of the room, creating a wide open space. That explained the feeling, at least, if he was making enough room for us to be cursed with the Imperious.

The others began muttering to one another before Moody turned back to face us. "Today, I shall be performing the Imperious Curse on all of you,"

The chattering ceased entirely and everyone stared at the blue-eyed professor like deer caught in the headlights. "But…that's…you said that it was illegal?" Hermione cried in confusion and astonishment.

"Aye, it is, but Dumbledore and I both feel that its best you know what you're up against now while you can be taught instead of out there," he replied, both of his eyes on Hermione. "Course, if you don't want the insight, be my guest and leave," he added, pointing to the door.

Hermione blinked and turned a light shade of pink before muttering apologies into the silence. Moody nodded and continued on with his speech.

"Now, I promise you nothing I do will be dangerous; wouldn't want any of you getting yourself hurt. Let's have you first, Thomas,"

No one was able to throw the curse off, or even hesitate in taking Moody's ridiculous instructions. "This is ridiculous; we're fourteen how could we possibly throw this thing off?" Hermione muttered as Neville did a triple back-flip off of Moody's three and a half foot high desk, landing on the ground in perfection.

"Snape, you next," he called gesturing for me to go into the center of the room.

I walked into the center of the room, putting up my occlumency shield in attempt to give myself a stronger defense. I took a deep breath and looked at Moody, both of his eyes staring back at me. "_Imperio_!"

The first feeling I had was a sense of déjà vu before my mind began drifting. It was actually a really nice feeling, but a little odd at the same time.

_There's no reason for me to feel odd…why should I feel so odd…?_

_**Do a handstand…**_

My knees folded a bit before my mind caught up in the fog with the request.

_Well…that's kind of odd too…why would I do that when I'm already so clumsy…?_

_**Go on, just do a handstand…go on, now…**_

_But I can't…they're for people who aren't gravitationally challenged…_

I frowned as the voice continued slicing through the fog, though I forced my knees to unbend and I stood up straight. The fog began fading, but the voice was still telling me to do the impossible task.

_This is ridiculous; I can't do a handstand…_

_**Just do it…**_

The fog had completely cleared and the class was staring back at me, expectantly. Moody had one eyebrow risen, his wand still pointed at me. I raised an eyebrow back and shook my head. "I have no balance whatsoever, there's no way I could ever do a handstand even if I wasn't in control," I stated once the voice had faded completely. "Just so you know," I added quietly as his other eyebrow rose to join the other.

He lowered his wand and the remaining wisps of fog, that had been clouding what I decided was my judgment zone, left completely. He nodded his head and looked back at the rest of my class. "There, you see? Constant vigilance! Snape kept her head and was thinking rationally about the situation. She didn't just think that the curse was going to render her useless and she fought! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he barked again, this time louder, getting a few of them to jump. "Did anyone watch her eyes? That's where you see it happen. Come on, Snape, let's have 'em look at your eyes this time,"

The second time I threw off the curse even quicker. He decided I had mastered it and had Harry go next, though I heard him mutter something about talking to Snape about not performing illegal curses on his daughter, no matter the reason behind it.

He threw the curse at Harry and his normally bright green eyes hazed over and looked slightly blue-gray under the spell. His knees bent at Moody's command, but he paused. There was a brief moment where his eyes flashed green before he dove headlong into a desk. The room gasped and Moody crowed in praise. "That's the ticket, Potter, focus now! We'll have you throw it off!"

After several more tries, Harry was able to resist the curse as well. Moody was beyond delighted when the bell rang, dismissing us all. I guess he was just happy that two of us had managed to throw the curse off.

"Bloody mad, he is," Harry mumbled as the four of us headed out of the classroom, heading for the Great Hall. "He acts like we're going to be attacked today," he added, wincing as he walked.

"Psychotic," I agreed, shaking my head.

"What's your secret anyway?" Ron asked, looking over at me. "No one is supposed to be that good at avoiding the Imperius Curse," he elaborated.

"I don't really know, to be honest," I shrugged. "I mean, I felt this weird feeling of déjà vu just as he cursed me and I put up a small occlumency shield as well, but I can't explain it otherwise,"

"So you felt like you'd done it before?" Hermione asked, curious.

"That is what people mean when they say 'déjà vu', Hermione," Ron rolled his eyes. Hermione ignored him and turned to Harry.

"I wonder if Keena had ever had that curse performed on her. It would explain it, right?"

Harry shrugged. "We could go and ask her, she's probably still in her office,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"He had the lot of you do _what_?" I cried in horror, staring at Harry, Ron, Kailey and Hermione, all of whom suddenly looked ashamed.

"He said he'd gotten permission from Dumbledore," Hermione added as if that made it alright for the professor to be cursing fourth year students.

"I don't bloody care whose permission he says he has! If Dumbledore told you to feed yourself to the squid, would you do it?" I asked in a fury.

"Well, no, that's crazy," Ron admitted, his lips twitching.

"Exactly! Did you know that under the Imperius Curse someone could make you do just that? Merlin and Founders, why in the world would you agree?" I fumed, standing up and pacing, the four of them shrinking back a little. "Why did he have you do this, exactly?" I ground out, sitting back down in my chair, trying not to screech at them.

"He said he wants us to know what it feels like," Harry answered quietly when the other three looked at him. "Wants us to be prepared,"

"So you all plan on getting cursed then? Brilliant, bloody brilliant…" I replied, shaking my head in anger. "We'll deal with this later, what is it you needed to ask me?"

Again, the others looked at Harry to answer and he looked back at me, this time looking even more nervous. "It's a sort of personal question, but…well, Kailey said that when Moody hit her with the curse she felt like she had…felt it before,"

I sighed, relieved that the question had not been worse. "Yeah, I'm not surprised. Back when I worked as an Unspeakable someone tried that curse out on me. Augustus Rookwood was his name," I added.

"Rookwood? You caught him?" Kailey asked in confusion.

I blinked. "How'd you–? Never mind. No, I didn't catch him; the others did while I was…the others caught him." I finished, deciding to leave out the more graphic portions of the anecdote.

"Is that why I could throw it off so easily?" Kailey asked, seeming glad to know that she wasn't abnormal. Or more abnormal.

"Probably; your magic is pretty well developed because of the past. Has it been easier for you to learn spells and such still?" she nodded and I grinned. "Good, that's what we expected to happen. But we're off topic now. The next time anyone, whether a professor or not, says they are going to put a curse on you, you tell them you do not feel comfortable doing that without parental or guardian consent. Understood?"

The four of them nodded and I stood up.

"Good, now, if that's all you needed, I suggest you three go and start your homework, Kailey I'd like a word," I said and the original trio nodded and left the room while Kailey looked at me in confusion. "You can sit; I'm done with yelling at you,"

She sat down but didn't look entirely comfortable with the idea of being questioned as I shut the door and strung up silencing charms. "Why do I get the feeling you're going to interrogate me?"

"Because I am," I replied with a shrug. "Now, I know that you knew that Moody would plan on this. And clearly he is not himself. May I ask why you let him?"

She bit her lip before nodding. "Its good practice for the future," she admitted quietly. "Not that I want it to happen, but it probably will so I figured…well, I knew he wouldn't do anything damaging so…yeah." She finished lamely with a half shrug.

I sighed heavily and brought a hand to my forehead, sitting down on my desk. "I don't like this. Not at all," I mumbled. "You should know that Dumbledore is not going to act on anything Sirius or I tell him. It has to be you,"

"And he knows I'm not going to change my philosophy this far into it. I'll only tell him if a death is going to take place still," she answered. "But he's being stubborn in the whole 'Voldemort must return' crap. If anything, I'd rather delay the time in which he returns."

I nodded and stood up to stand in front of her. I placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know the pressure you're under but you do not control the future. Even if someone does die and you do know about it beforehand you mustn't let it bring you guilt. Death is a part of war, just remember that,"

She heaved a great sigh and nodded. "I think I'll go and talk to him after the champions are selected," she said aloud. "If the people who I think are selected are chosen then I'll know just what to do. If something is different…well, I can still go and talk to him, then, can't I?"

"Yes, you can. Just make sure if he doesn't listen you come and talk to myself or Sirius,"

"What about my dad?"

"Severus is in a difficult position and I'm sorry it's affecting you. Being a spy means having a good undercover and for him that means that he must act as though he does not care for you. I can get messages and the like to him for you but with Mad-Eye in the castle we can't be guaranteed a safe place for the two of you to go unseen," I answered with a shake of my head. "I know it probably doesn't mean the same but you also have the five Marauders on your side,"

She gave a small smile and nodded, brushing her long hair over her shoulder. "You guys were great for taking me in like that. I really do appreciate it,"

I smiled in return as she stood up.

"I'd better go and start my homework. AKA, copying Hermione's history,"

"Just make sure it's her notes and not Harry or Ron's,"

"As if they take notes," she laughed.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Merlin, what's she doing now?" Ron asked in annoyance as Hermione came racing down the stairs with a tin of something that sounded metallic a few days later.

"Making life harder on herself," I mumbled, mentally thanking the powers above that I had no spare change at the moment to give her. "What's that, Hermione?" I asked warily.

She rolled her eyes at me before setting the tin container down on top of my Divination homework, smudging the ink. I scowled at her but she ignored me, lifting a pin out of the tin and holding it up for the three of us to see. "These are badges for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare," she answered proudly.

"Oh," I answered slowly. "What took so long?"

She rolled her eyes again. "I've been preoccupied, researching…things."

"What things?" I frowned.

"About Aurors and if they ever suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder,"

"For Moody, you mean?" Harry asked, laying down his Divination book.

"He's obviously not completely mental but he's not too far off either," she answered with a nod. "Anyway, I finally finished these," she said, rattling the tin, further smudging my homework. I winced. It had been full of the perfect predictions and now I'd have to research it all again. "And I know you were cheating," she added, noticing the look on my face.

Now I rolled my eyes. "Right, cheating in Divination," the boys sniggered and Hermione raised an eyebrow. "For your information, those predictions were mildly accurate. I'd've gotten full marks,"

"Yes, well, these are two sickles a badge." She held out her hand and the boys glanced at one another before looking back at her. "You can't expect me to just give them to you! We need to raise money for the foundation!"

"Sorry, Mione, I'm not going to be joining in on this effort," I informed her. "First off, the Potter elves flipped out when James suggested time off. Secondly, I'm completely broke and not about to ask my dad for cash,"

"Kailey, you have to join! Think about what it will do for the elves! They can get an education and learn what it's like to be free," she implored. "And you two can stay where you are," she added hotly, noticing Harry and Ron who were standing with their books. They both sat down slowly, as if fearing what she would do.

"Nope,"

"You are a hypocrite!" she informed me, rather loudly it seemed as part of the common room stopped moving.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You Americans are always preaching about equality and freedom but when push comes to shove you do nothing," she folded her arms and lifted her chin, standing.

"Pardon me if I don't disrupt the natural order of things but I—"

"Slavery is the natural order of things?"

"Of course not! You're twisting my words!" I groaned, giving her a look. "What I meant was that the house elves _love_ what they do. Or are you suggesting that Albus Dumbledore would keep hundreds of slaves just because they are shorter and greener?"

She frowned. "Greener?"

"How many elves have you even seen? Some of 'em are greenish. That just reinforces my point; you don't know what you're talking about."

She huffed and stood up. "Fine. Give me a month and I'll have enough research to satisfy your needs on the subject."

"I'll give you till Thanksgiving." I replied, smirking. "That's an extra week." I added and she rolled her eyes, scooping up the tin and heading back up to the dorms. I looked over at the boys, both of whom had resumed their Divination homework.

"You think she'll beat you out?" Ron asked, scratching something off of his parchment.

"Not a chance, I know where the kitchens are and I can get the elves on my side in a matter of moments," I answered, shaking my head and pulling my smudged parchment towards myself.

"Right, she'll just tell you their brainwashed," Harry informed me.

"Whatever," I muttered, trying to siphon off some of the mess with my wand.

"What do you suppose the students from the other schools will think of Hermione?" Ron asked glancing over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't back down yet.

My thoughts went straight to Krum and I couldn't help but snigger a bit. "I doubt she'll be giving them SPEW stuff," I giggled. Ron frowned and Harry looked up in interest but I shook my head. "You'll see,"

Notices were put up a week before the other schools were to arrive and everyone was riding an adrenaline rush the entire time. Moody was as excitable as ever, still trying to get everyone to be able to throw off the curse on the first attempt, though no one but Harry and I even came close, though Keena had informed him that neither Harry nor I were allowed to participate any longer and he had complied quite easily with the command. McGonagall's nose flared more easily than ever before and seemed to lock into place whenever she heard or saw either of the twins and she seemed almost afraid when she saw the two of them walking into the hall with Sirius one afternoon at lunch.

The afternoon of the thirtieth we had potions. Snape was frustrated with Neville as usual but ran out of time to properly punish him for splattering potion on the floor and burning a hole in the stone. He settled for fifteen points off as the bell rang. I lifted my bag onto my shoulder and headed for the door with the others but someone took a hold of my shoulder. I turned to face Snape and frowned. "What?"

"I wish to speak with you about manners in front of the foreigners," he sneered. "You can leave," he added to my friends and the remaining Slytherins sniggered as they shoved by.

Snape shut the door behind them and put of a silencing spell.

"What do you really want?" I asked.

"I can't believe you let him perform an Unforgiveable curse on you," he growled.

"Keena already gave me the speech," I told him, folding my arms. "So unless you've got a new chorus for me, I've got to go up and put my stuff away before I try not to be foolishly brave in front of the guests or something,"

"I understand that you don't like the way I've had to treat you lately but do you think I've enjoyed ignoring you? It's for your own good," His glare was still in place but his eyes weren't angry. Well, not angry for him at least.

"You're afraid of Mad-Eye, aren't you? That's why you're still glaring."

"I do not trust him, no." He answered shaking his head. "And I never want you alone with him again. Yes, Black told me about that,"

"So you can find time to talk to Sirius and Keena without looking suspicious but I can't talk to you?" I asked, growing frustrated.

"_Professor_ Potter and _Auror_ Black are my co-workers. It does not look suspicious while talking with you looks much more so," he answered quietly. "I'm sorry,"

"Fine, I've got to go," I muttered and he unlocked the door to let me out.

"Oh, and do you have a hair tie with you?" he asked briskly just as I laid a hand on the handle.

I frowned but shoved my sleeve back to reveal the black hair tie on my wrist. "Why?"

"Put your hair up,"

"Huh?"

"No need for the French boys to see how pretty you look with your hair down," he smirked and I felt my face heat up with embarrassment.

"Good-bye dad," I said louder than necessary to stop him from saying something else before sprinting towards the tower.

I caught up with the others just as they were coming down from the dorms and I ended up dumping my stuff on one of the couches before following them out. We headed down to wait on the steps outside of the entrance hall organized into columns by house with each year standing on their own step, youngest at the bottom. A rift formed between the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, leaving enough room for the visiting schools to walk up. McGonagall was walking up and down the stairs, barking out orders every so often to keep us in line. Parvati and Lavender were fussing over the way they looked and some of the boys behind me were trying to look 'casually disarrayed' until McGonagall told them they looked like 'ignorant blundering slobs'.

"What did Snape want?" Harry asked, leaning past Hermione to talk to me.

"Wanted to give me the same speech as Keena did but I told him it'd been taken care of," I answered. He looked confused for a fraction of a second before he understood. "That and to embarrass me," I added, more for Hermione's benefit.

"What did he do?" she asked, turning to face me better while the boys looked over her shoulders.

"Told me to fix my hair so the French boys wouldn't notice me," I sniggered. "Like it matters, I don't speak French,"

"I suspect they speak English," she answered, shaking her head. "We could have some fun with that," she added, allowing a rather devious smile to cover her face.

Ron and Harry frowned behind her and swapped glances. "What do you mean?" Ron asked, sounding a bit worried.

"Never you mind, this is a girl thing," Hermione answered, waving him off. "First things first, you need to fix your hair in the exact way that he didn't want you to,"

I grinned and pulled it all out of my makeshift ponytail, letting it cascade down my back. "Next?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing for now, we'll get Keena to help us out with the second phase." She decided nodding to herself. "When do you suppose they'll get here?"

"Soon," I replied distractedly, tugging my hair over my right shoulder to keep it from blowing too much in the wind and wondering what could possibly be the 'second phase'.

"Well, that's helpful," Ron muttered as Hermione turned to face down the stairs again.

"Eh?" I asked, running a hand through my hair.

"I said that was helpful," he answered.

"What was helpful?" I asked, looking up at him, confused.

"Never mind, Kailey, just keep playing with your hair," Harry answered, rolling his eyes.

I shrugged and turned to face the sky. The sun was beginning to set and the lake was glistening orange and purple in the twilight. The chatter of the other students was growing loud and impatient.

"Why are you looking up?" Harry asked after a few minutes had gone by.

"I'm enjoying the starry night sky; do you have a problem with that?" I smirked, glancing over at him. He shrugged and I grinned.

"Really?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow as I turned to face the sky again.

"No, I'm just looking for them," I replied, shaking my head.

"In the sky?" one of the fifth year boys behind me asked.

"Yep," I answered, grinning widely.

"As if they'll take brooms," one of his friends muttered, sniggering.

"Imagine if they did, though," the first boy replied.

"Nah, there's too many of them," I said, not taking my eyes from the sky.

"I don't care how they get here, just so long as they get here soon," DJ muttered in front of me, making Alexis and Ginny laugh. "What? I'm hungry and it's getting cold,"

"Look!" Ron shouted, pointing to just above the Forbidden Forest. "What's that?"

"A dragon!" an overly excited first year standing next to Lizzie shouted.

"Don't be stupid, it's a flying house!" Dennis Creevey crowed, silencing the panicking girl.

"I don't think that's a house," Harry called back as the giant carriage flew closer by the second.

The powder blue carriage was the size of a large manor house and was pulled by twelve large, cream-colored horses each with a set of dazzling silver wings. By large I mean to say that they made Clydesdale horses look like Shetland ponies. They landed at the bottom of the stairs some hundred feet away or so. A boy opened the door to the carriage and leapt out, landing precisely on the ground before whipping out his wand and releasing a small set of stairs for people to climb out of.

The next moment we witnessed the largest high heeled shoe I have ever seen step lightly out of the carriage followed by a woman who looked exactly the right size for Hagrid. Madame Maxime was dressed in the finest black satin dress robes imaginable with glistening opals swirling around her neck and even a few lay on her hands. She raised an eyebrow at the students as we all stared wide-eyed at her entry before Dumbledore began to clap from the top of the stairs. We followed in suite and her face broke into a gorgeous smile.

She seemed to glide up the stairs, her students following in her wake as she greeted Dumbledore who had come to meet her at the half way point, one step above from where I stood with the others. Her students consisted of at least fifteen boys and girls all at least seventeen, meaning that hardly a seventh of Beauxbatons was coming for the tournament. The girls were dressed in the same silken blue robes as the boys, though the girls' blue was a slightly more silvery color. Their skirts were no longer than ours, though they looked much flowier and they wore no stockings. The boys wore cream-colored pants under their robes and their shirts were bright white with the top button undone and no tie.

I noticed one of the boys looking at our uniforms as well. He had golden-blonde hair and deep blue eyes along with a straight nose and bright white teeth, I noticed, as he grinned at me, causing me to blush as Dumbledore and Maxime exchanged words of welcome.

"Come," Madame Maxime said very suddenly to her students. They followed her up the stairs, though the boy winked at me before he followed his headmistress.

"It worked," I whispered to Hermione with a rather silly grin.

"I noticed," she replied in kind, the boys tuning out of the conversation completely, discussing something about horses with Seamus and Dean. "And he obviously did too. He was…really good-looking," she added with a small giggle.

I blushed and ducked my head as she laughed at me. "Fine then, let's switch places now and you can be on the end for these Durmstrang boys." I grinned at her, switching places with her even though she put up a mild protest.

"Hey, lovebirds, do you hear something?" Fred Weasley asked, leaning past the fifth years to talk to Hermione and me.

We both paused and listened for a moment. A sound filled the air like breaking ice mixed with thunderous waves and, oddly, a drain.

"The lake! Look at the lake!" Lee Jordan called from next to George and the entire school turned to look to see a whirlpool forming near the center of the large black lake. Slowly, a mast began rising out of the center of the pool followed by the bow of the massive ship.

"Where are they going to dock?" I wondered aloud, suddenly realizing there was nowhere for the ship to keep.

"Look there!" Ginny called, pointing to a shimmering light. It dimmed to reveal a brand new dock for the ship.

"Okay then," I shrugged with a laugh.

The school's chatter slowed to a buzz before silencing as the Durmstrang students came closer, led by a man with a tall, fury hat that looked like it was made out of some rare animal. Though Karkaroff's robes were made of well-kept black fur, the students wore robes that looked much less impressive than the silk of the Beauxbatons students. I couldn't quite tell the difference between the uniforms yet seeing as they were all wrapped up so tightly in their cloaks. Dumbledore led the applause once more and we cheered as they climbed the stairs.

"Professor Dumbledore! Good to see you, sir!" Karkaroff crowed, his accent curiously British. He shook hands with the old headmaster excitedly. "How are you?"

"Simply blooming, my dear fellow," Dumbledore returned. "I hope I find you well?"

"Very well, sir, very well," he replied with a toothy grin.

I looked over at the students to see that they stood in two rigid lines behind their headmaster, one line for boys the other for girls. At the front of the line, though he was in shadow, stood Viktor Krum. I grinned to myself and gave a small cough, gently knocking into Hermione who looked at me in question before turning to face the Durmstrang students once more. I looked over when she didn't turn to face me again and worked even harder to contain my grin. Krum was looking right at Hermione and gave her a small smile before Karkaroff pulled him into the light, loudly announcing his name.

Hogwarts followed Durmstrang into the school, in loud chaos as girls twittered about the famous Quidditch player and the boys searched their pockets for paper or a quill for him to sign. "Why didn't you tell me?" Ron hissed as his pockets came up empty.

"Because he's gonna be here for the entire year, besides, he's got a 'head cold'," I snickered as my school mates continued searching in vain for something for Krum to sign.

"Honestly, Ron, he's just a Quidditch player," Hermione added, not looking any of us in the eye as we headed for our table. "Oh, Kailey, look, it's that boy from Beauxbatons," she added, pointing to the Ravenclaw table where the French students were looking around the Great Hall, looking rather unimpressed for the most part. She dragged me to the side of the table that would face the Ravenclaws and had Ron and Harry sit across from us at an angle so we could still see them.

I grinned as Ron and Harry rolled their eyes at us. The boy from Beauxbatons looked up and spotted me and he grinned and gave me a wave which I returned. "This is a little too easy," I laughed at Hermione.

"That makes it all the more fun," she returned. "Look at your dad's face," she added brightly.

I turned to face the head table to see my dad fully glaring at me. I smirked and turned back to Hermione. "He's going to be so pissed off at me," I grinned, glancing at the French boy again, who gave me a wink before turning back to his own classmates.

Oh, but what fun this would be…

**Hope you liked it! And hope you had happy holidays, consider this a delayed present! Next up is number 11! **

**:-D**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Cursed Memories

**Not mine, never was mine, never will be mine. **

**Hope you enjoy it!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

The arrival of Beauxbatons had been spectacular, but a bit of my old school pride told me that the Marauders and I had thrown bigger and better pranks. I shook off the feeling and applauded with everyone else as Madame Maxime came up the steps to greet Dumbledore. Sirius and I stood behind the Gryffindors along with McGonagall. Most of the other teachers stood behind Ravenclaw, though some stayed behind Hufflepuff. Severus and Mad-Eye were the only two behind Slytherin and Mad-Eye was there because Dumbledore didn't want Severus to have to stand alone. Severus thought it was so that he could keep an eye on the retired Auror and Moody thought it was the reverse.

"That is one…voluptuous woman," Sirius muttered to me. "Looks about right for Hagrid though," he added thoughtfully after a moment.

"Hush, no need to risk insulting the guests a minute after they arrive," I replied, though I couldn't contain my smirk. "That's all we need; to look like a bunch of prejudiced pinheads,"

"That is not what I am most concerned with," McGonagall said as the Beauxbatons students and their headmistress made their way into the castle.

"What is then, Mickey?" Sirius asked, leaning past me to get a better look at her as she glared at him before shaking her head.

"You had better keep yourself and those Weasley twins out of trouble, Sirius Black, or so help me, I shall turn you into a newt for the duration of the foreigners' stay!" she threatened. Sirius blanched and looked at me.

"You'd make me better, right, love?"

I laughed and he gulped. "Course I would, I can't marry a newt," I answered, giving him a light kiss on the cheek and he grinned, throwing an arm over my shoulder and sticking his tongue out at McGonagall who rolled her eyes.

"Why don't we practice some French for our guests?" he suggested, wriggling his eyebrows.

Before I could come up with a good comeback, a spell whistled by my head and my husband-to-be disappeared. I blinked and looked over at McGonagall who looked quite satisfied with herself as she tucked her wand away. I raised an eyebrow and looked over my shoulder to see a black, shiny newt climbing up my arm. He made his way to my other shoulder and stuck his tongue out at McGonagall who folded her arms and ignored him.

"Mickey, you're going to get us all into trouble unless you turn him back," I said in a warning tone as if talking to a first year. She sniffed in distaste. "C'mon, we can't make the resident Auror look bad in front of his new and old bosses,"

"He deserved that one," she muttered, though she took her wand back out. "Put him on the ground, I don't want him to squish you,"

I did so and stepped back as Sirius was turned back to normal. Well, back into a human. He glared at her and was about to say something when the kids started shouting and pointing at the lake. I put myself back between the two so that they wouldn't be able to further hex one another in front of the Durmstrang students. A massive ship burst forth from the water and the Durmstrang students marched behind their headmaster, halting behind him as he greeted Dumbledore.

"Karkaroff?" Sirius muttered, almost spitting the name. "Keena, is that Karkaroff?"

I couldn't reply, but I managed to close my mouth as the shock sunk in. "A headmaster of Durmstrang…Merlin, last time I saw him was his appeal at the Ministry…" I trailed off and ended up glaring at the old, cowardly Death Eater. "Perhaps Moody isn't our biggest threat," I muttered.

"He was let off his trial," McGonagall reminded us.

"Let off because he gave names," I growled. "Three of them I gave myself but no one trusted me,"

"You gave names?" Sirius asked in whispered astonishment. "What names?"

"The ones who attacked Alice and Frank," I answered quietly. "They, being Dumbledore, thought I was lying about one of them because it seemed like I was just trying to get back at Crouch," I muttered.

"His son," Sirius replied, understanding at once and I gave a curt nod. He remained tense for the remainder of the night.

Dumbledore finally led both schools into the Great Hall, quietly conversing with Karkaroff and Madame Maxime when she joined them. Dumbledore sat in between the two visiting heads, McGonagall taking a seat one over on Madame Maxime's other side and I made sure I kept myself in between Mickey and Sirius so that they would at least try to remember that there were other people there. Severus had taken a seat one over on Karkaroff's other side, Mad-Eye taking up a post on his right side.

"Looks like they've all made themselves comfortable," Sirius observed and I looked at the tables to see the Durmstrang students sitting rigidly at the Slytherin table and the Beauxbatons students sitting a bit more relaxed, though some looked disdainful, at the Ravenclaw table. Just as I looked over I saw a French boy winking. "Did you see that?"

"Who was he winking at?" I asked, scanning the rest of the table.

Sirius started laughing. "Look at Gryffindor," he sniggered when I looked over. My eyes landed on Harry and Ron who were conversing to themselves. I looked across the table and spotted Kailey and Hermione laughing with one another before Kailey looked across to the Ravenclaw table. "Hold on a moment," he muttered before looking back at me.

"What?"

"I thought Kailey and Harry…I thought they…?"

"They do,"

"Then why is she…?"

"Severus probably told her not to," I shrugged, trying not to smirk as Sirius struggled to understand. "Now hush, Dumbledore's standing,"

The hall silenced and the students and teachers all turned to face Dumbledore as he smiled out at everyone, seeming especially pleased about something. "Good evening to all and a very special and warm welcome to our guests!" he called out. There was some muffled laughter from the direction of the Ravenclaw table and Madame Maxime shifted ever so slightly in her seat before Dumbledore continued. "I sincerely hope that your journeys went well and that you feel most comfortable here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Tournament shall be properly opened after we have all had time to eat and drink. Thank you," he sat back down and Madame Maxime claimed his attention immediately.

"I must apologize for ze rudeness of one or two of my students," she gushed with a dismissive shake of her head. "I will talk wiz zem about zeir manners tonight," she promised.

"Not at all, my dear Madame, not at all," Dumbledore replied with a shake of his head, his strange smile still in place.

I turned to Sirius as the heads continued speaking. "What's Dumbles so happy about?" I muttered and Sirius grinned widely. I frowned. "Why wasn't I included?"

"I didn't even say what it was," he returned with a smirk.

"You didn't have to, it was obviously fun," I pouted, folding my arms.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"So…this stuff, it's good?" I asked, staring at the bouillabaisse, trying not to look too skeptical. I'd never been one for seafood and this looked like it included quite a bit of shrimp.

"Very," Hermione nodded. "You should try some," she added, turning back to her own plate. I noted it held no trace of the fancy looking French food.

"Yeah, no thanks," I muttered, returning to the safe food that I knew; fries and a hamburger. Yum.

The chatter in the hall continued and the bouillabaisse remained untouched until I looked up to see a tall, silvery blonde walking from the Ravenclaw table. I grinned to myself as I took a very small sip of pumpkin juice. She paused behind Ron and Harry before delicately clearing her throat.

"Excusez-moi, but 'ave you finished wiz ze bouillabaisse?" she asked, her accent very heavy. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked between Ron and Harry. Ron stared open-mouthed at her, but Harry handed her the dish with a nod. "Merci beau coups,"

I waited until she'd gone back to the other table to burst out laughing.

"Honestly, Ronald," Hermione huffed. "She's just a girl,"

"No, no way is she just a girl, she's part veela! She must be," he replied vehemently. "Kailey, is she?"

"Doesn't matter what she is, it's who she is," I answered, choking back laughter.

"I'll tell you who she is, she's a beauty," Ron muttered, glancing over his shoulder at her. "Merlin, they don't make them like that at Hogwarts," he added quietly.

"Hey!" I grumbled.

"They make them okay," Harry said even more quietly.

I couldn't stop the automatic blush on my face, but I turned even redder when I saw him glance over his shoulder as well. I bit my lip when I followed his gaze over to Cho Chang. I sighed internally in defeat as the desserts appeared on the table, some of them flaming. George and Fred were immediately boosted to the other end of the table away from the flames within a minute of the flame covered food's arrival, to the amusement of most of our table. The rest of the hall didn't seem to notice and the flames on the oddly present Trelawney's shawl were quickly put out with a quick flick of McGonagall's wand, though I suspected she allowed them to burn a bit longer than was really necessary.

The golden plates were wiped clean once more and talking ceased as Dumbledore rose to give us his speech. "Before we begin, let me introduce the two men who have made this year's events possible. First, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and secondly, Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports!" there was little pause between the name announcements, probably because Dumbledore wanted fair applause for both men. Bagman gave a great wave, looking more like a little boy than the head of a department. Crouch, on the other hand, looked sullen and, mainly because I was looking for it, a bit ill. In all honesty, I had completely missed their entrance. "Both Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman will join Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime and myself in the judging of the champions throughout the tournament. Now, Mr. Filch, if you would please bring in the casket,"

Filch, in his very best moldy overcoat, came forward with what looked like an ancient pirate's chest. It was clearly made of very old wood and covered with jewels of dark sapphires and rubies that glinted in the candlelit hall. He placed it, very carefully, on the table directly in front of Dumbledore before he scurried back to his corner. Everyone's eyes remained on the old chest as Dumbledore continued his speech.

"We will be judging the three champions over the course of the school year with three tasks. We will be looking for their magical prowess, their daring, and their deductive skills and, of course, the ability to cope with overwhelming danger." He paused for a moment and let the silence sink in and I looked up at him to see his twinkling blue eyes staring straight at me.

It was all I could do to keep from looking towards Harry or Cedric so I settled for looking at the table before he continued his speech.

"There shall be three champions selected, one from each of the participating schools. They shall be scored on each of the tasks and the champion with the highest total shall be deemed the Champion of the Triwizard Tournament. I now present to you the impartial judge,"

He raised his wand and waved it over the chest. Nothing happened.

The schools waited in silence and Dumbledore seemed to be the only head who was not confused by the utter lack of magic that was occurring. Suddenly, there was a strange, forlorn cry. It sounded from what appeared to be the starry night sky of the ceiling of the Great Hall. With a great whooshing sound, all of the candles in the hall went out, leaving us in nothing but starlight. The cry continued to grow louder when it was suddenly joined by other noises. A giant, bronze eagle suddenly exploded into the room in a shower of blue sparks that looked curiously like rain drops directly over the Ravenclaw table, and the Ravenclaws gave a wild cheer. It was followed moments later by a black badger, arriving in a fountain of yellow sparks above the Hufflepuff table and they cheered as well. A great green serpent burst forth in a shower of silver stars above the Slytherin table. The Slytherins cheered, but they were louder than the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. It became a contest and the Gryffindors gave the loudest cheer as the great, golden lion exploded with a roar of red sparks and fireworks above Gryffindor table. Once all the symbols were present the made their way to float behind the teacher's table, all standing (or perching in the case of the eagle) behind and above Dumbledore's chair, the four providing brilliant shades of light across the hall.

The original cry grew louder and, with a sudden flash of golden flames, Fawkes appeared in the hall. He flew in a great, sweeping circle, carrying something in his talons. He finally made his way up to the front of the hall and placed the goblet on top of the chest before flying up to perch on the back of Dumbledore's chair with a great cry before bursting into flames and disappearing once more.

Dumbledore gave his wand a great wave and the goblet rose into the air, blue flames bursting forth as it rose. "I present the Goblet of Fire!"

Now the entire hall cheered some whooping and whistling before the goblet landed back on the old chest. The hall finally fell silent when Dumbledore raised a patient hand to quell us. "Any who wish to submit themselves to be a representative of his or her school as a Triwizard Champion must write the name of his or her school as well as their own name, clearly, on a slip of parchment and place it into the goblet. If you desire to be a champion, you have twenty-four hours to submit your name and we shall announce the champions at tomorrow's Halloween Feast. An age line shall be installed by myself and it shall be checked over by well experienced wands,"

He was forced to pause again as the students in the hall became over excited by the nearness of the prize money and the honor of being a champion. I noticed Sirius raising his wand and suddenly the great lion roared, resulting in immediate silence.

"Thank you, Auror Black," Dumbledore said happily. "Please remember that once you are entered as a champion there is no going back. This will be a binding, magical contract and you cannot bow out if chosen. Think long and hard about what is to be asked of you if you are chosen. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all!"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

The hall was buzzing, everyone talking about the display.

"That was amazing!" "Did you see the way it roared?" "So life-like!"

"It is official, you are sleeping on the couch tonight," I ground out as we headed for the doors to monitor everyone as they left. In all reality, Sirius was already supposed to be standing there but he'd been trying to apologize for not including me.

"We don't even share a bed!" he complained, causing a few Ravenclaw upper years to glance at us, some of them trying to hide their laughter. "Every night," he tacked on at the end, noticing the look of shock one of the boys had given him before laughing loudly.

"Sirius!"

"Sorry, sorry," he muttered, hanging his head as we reached the doors. "It's just…y'know,"

"No, I don't know," I glared, folding my arms. "You feel the need to egg on the already promiscuous boys and their hormonal selves? Now you really are sleeping on the couch," he huffed but said nothing, waving people through the doors.

"Why's Sirius sleeping on the couch?" Harry had suddenly appeared at his godfather's elbow and was looking between the two of us confused. "That was amazing, by the way," he added with a large grin, Ron nodding eagerly beside him. The girls looked like they wanted to roll their eyes at them but were too impressed by the show.

"That is precisely why," I answered. "I haven't gotten to do a prank in so long and he goes and pulls off this thing without me…" I muttered darkly.

"I promise, next time I'll be sure to include you," he implored.

"Too late," I replied, biting back a smile at the puppy eyes he was giving me.

"You're going to embarrass me in front of my only godson?"

"He'll benefit from the example,"

"Can you guys not drag me into this?" Harry requested, taking a step away from Sirius, but bumping into one of the Durmstrang boys.

"Excuse us!" Karkaroff fumed, pulling Krum away from Harry, looking livid.

"I'm sorry," Harry replied fixing his glasses, his eyes going wide while Sirius' narrowed in distrust, the tense and utter hatred he'd displayed earlier coming back in waves.

"Yes, well…" Karkaroff trailed off, eyeing the look on Sirius' face apprehensively before his eyes slid back to Harry. I watched as the recognition made its place known in Karkaroff's gaze. His expression shifted from anger to awe in less than a second and I pulled Harry closer to me, uncomfortable with the ex-Death Eater's gaze.

"You're blocking the hall, Kar—Professor," Sirius stated, clearly working to keep his voice neutral.

Karkaroff's eyes flitted back to Sirius' nearly hostile expression. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" he asked, not moving.

Sirius inclined his head. "Auror Black," he said, not holding out a hand for him to shake.

"Sirius Black?"

"Professor, I'm sure your students are tired, I suggest you take them to bed. Also, my students are in need of their own rest," I intervened as whispers began carrying themselves through the Durmstrang students, quickly passing on to the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students who were blocked behind them.

He surveyed me for a moment before nodding his apologies and sweeping out of the hall, the red cloaked Durmstrang students following him at his quick pace. Sirius watched them head out before turning back to face the hall, all hints of joking gone from his face.

"Off to bed, you four," I said with a nod towards the stairs.

Kailey dragged them off without a backward glance as Harry leaned towards her to ask something. I looked back to Sirius to find he looked angry and pale. It was the same look he'd had after Dumbledore had accused him of being a Death Eater after a brief disappearance in the middle of the war. I put a hand on his arm and he closed his eyes.

"Alright, there, son?" I hadn't noticed Mad-Eye's wooden leg approaching. Both of his eyes were trained on Sirius' face. His eyes opened and he looked back at his old mentor.

"How can you stand the sight of them?" he asked bluntly, hardly bothering to hide his frustration.

I blinked, confused. "Who?"

"The ones who got away?" he growled.

"Knowing that they'll get theirs someday, somehow," Moody growled in reply. "Nothing I hate more than—"

"Than a Death Eater who got away," Sirius finished angrily, glancing into the empty hall, Dumbledore speaking quietly with Bagman and Crouch. Moody nodded, leaning against the opposite side of the doorway.

"You two go ahead to rest, I'll take the first watch tonight," he said.

"Dumbledore mentioned watching in pairs," I replied, shaking my head. "I'll stay, Sirius, you go ahead,"

"No," he answered severely. "I don't trust him enough to leave you out of my sight,"

"Karkaroff won't come back in here," I muttered, knowing he wasn't talking about the Durmstrang headmaster. Dumbledore came towards the three of us, levitating the Goblet in front of him, followed by a bouncing Bagman and a sullen Crouch.

"Keena, if you would," he instructed quietly, gesturing with his hand to a spot on the ground in front of the doors that led into the Great Hall.

I nodded, taking out my wand, whispering the incantation "_Ortis_ _Silicis_," I moved my wand in a spinning, circular motion as the stone floor rose to make a podium. I stopped when it reached my shoulder level and gave it a quick tap with my wand, holding it steady. I added a step to surround the podium in case someone shorter wanted to submit their name.

Dumbledore allowed the Goblet to land in the center of the wide podium and we stepped back as he began to draw the age-line around it. The line burned bright blue as he added various back-up jinxes, including one that acted against aging potion. He finished it and the line ceased to glow, though he threw up a golden shield so that the students could tell where it was.

"Alastor, if you would," Dumbledore said, gesturing, handing him a blank piece of parchment that he had charmed to act as a younger student. The Goblet and age line were supposed to read it as though it were a sixteen year old who was to turn seventeen within the hour.

Moody nodded, taking the parchment and stepping over the line, limping up the one step (his shoulder was hunched and he couldn't quite reach). He tossed it into the Goblet and nothing happened, except the fire glowed red for a moment before returning to a blue color.

"Hm…" Dumbledore murmured, stroking his beard.

"Professor, what time did you have that set at again?" I asked, checking my watch.

"Nine o'clock,"

"It's nine-oh-one," I replied with a grin. "That piece of blank parchment is seventeen,"

"Ah," he answered. "Well then, Sirius, take this," he said, supplying Sirius with a second bit of parchment.

Sirius stepped over the age line and before he could even raise his arm there was a loud blast and he was thrown backwards. He slid along the floor a few meters before stopping and he sat up, rubbing his head. "Merlin, sir, was that necessary?" he complained.

"I'm afraid so, Sirius," Dumbledore replied gravely.

"Well, it works," he said bitterly.

"Wonderful, Alastor, you and I shall take the first shift?" Dumbledore suggested and Moody nodded. "Very good, sleep well, you two," Dumbledore added to Sirius and me, dismissing us.

We got to our quarters and Sirius headed straight for his bed, rubbing his hands over his eyes. I sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leaning my head on his arm. He immediately became less tense and readjusted himself so that he was leaning against me instead; his head nestled against my neck. I held him close to me as I felt him begin to shake.

"Sirius, what's wrong?" I murmured, kissing his head.

"Karkaroff…Halloween…" he paused to draw a breath. "Azkaban…" he barely whispered before losing it entirely.

"It's alright, I'm here," I whispered, hugging him close to me, rubbing his back gently. He gripped the fabric of my cloak as he tried to stop himself from crying, holding me tightly as though I were about to disappear.

"Sometimes…sometimes I'm afraid that…that I'll wake up…there…" he shuddered and I placed my hands on either side of his face, pulling him away to look him in the eye. He looked so vulnerable and broken; his eyes were taking on the sunken look that they had not lost after the solitary year of freedom he had experienced.

"Sirius," my voice caught as I wiped the tears off of his face. "I will _never_ let them take you from me ever again," I kissed his forehead and hugged him, burying my face in his neck.

I let him cry himself out, readjusting the way we were sitting on his bed so that I leaned against his headboard. I ran my fingers through his hair, our breathing in sync as he calmed down. I'm not sure who fell asleep first, but I awoke to a feeling of sudden warmth. I opened my eyes slowly to find myself curled next to Sirius, a blanket I had never seen before covering the two of us. I looked over to the door to see the hem of the cloak Dumbledore had worn that night exiting the room.

I sighed and looked at Sirius next to me. Dumbledore had clearly noticed the dried tear stains on his almost peacefully sleeping face. I glanced at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was four in the morning; our shift. I had set the alarm but it wasn't going off.

I fell back asleep, shifting closer to him and smiling to myself when one of his arms wrapped around me…

SLAM!

"What the—?"

"I'm alright," I muttered, rubbing my head where I had hit the floor. "This bed is too small," I grumbled, climbing back on to sit next to Sirius, who had sat up. He grinned while inspecting the strange new blanket.

"Where'd this come from?" he wondered aloud.

"Dumbledore relieved us of our shift this morning," I replied, stretching my shoulders out and glancing at the clock. It was now eight. I groaned and flopped back down, stuffing my face in his pillow. He laughed at me, lying back down next to me. "Feeling better, love?" I asked gently as he traced my face with his finger.

He sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry," he added.

"You're sorry? What for?" I asked, confused.

"I'm supposed to be the strong one," he muttered, holding my face with one hand. "I'm not supposed to…you know…"

I grinned a little. "You are the strong one," I replied. "You're the one who _survived_,"

We stayed in our quarters the remainder of the day, not really concerned with who entered the tournament. We decided that we needed a day to adjust to the idea that Karkaroff, a traitor among Death Eaters, would be so close to the castle. And it was Halloween.

"What d'you think will happen this year?" I wondered aloud as we headed towards the feast that night.

"What d'you mean?" Sirius asked sharply.

"First year, Harry battled a troll. Second year he and his friends were caught under the first message Riddle left from the Chamber along with the petrified Mrs. Norris. Last year, well, last year wasn't so dangerous but everyone else thought it was when he ran into you. But nothing can happen this year, right?"

We paused and stared at one another for a long moment.

"This is going to be a long night," Sirius muttered, shaking his head and placing his arm around my waist as we walked into the Great Hall, ignoring the Goblet, its blue flames glittering against the setting sun that leaked through the ceiling.

The students were clearly anxious for the feast to end. I couldn't keep my eyes from Gryffindor for more than a few minutes at a time. I was trying very hard not to be jumpy and Sirius kept grabbing my hand to keep his own from shaking. Finally, Dumbledore stood and the dishes cleared. All chatter ceased as he performed a special summoning spell that allowed the Goblet to come floating gently through the hall, the podium it had sat on sinking back into the ground. It landed on the table directly in front of Dumbledore and the doors to the Great Hall closed with a snap.

"Now, after each champion has been chosen, he or she shall come to the front of the hall and go behind that door," he said, gesturing to the room where we had waited as fifth and seventh years during OWL and NEWT season. I suppressed a grin remembering how terrified of those tests I had been only to realize how trivial they really were after graduation.

The cool, blue fire of the Goblet suddenly turned to Gryffindor red and sparks flew from it before one elongated flame burst forth, thrusting a piece of charred parchment with sharp looking handwriting into the air. Dumbledore caught it and held it in front of his nose. "The champion of Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum!"

The hall erupted in applause, no one corner of the room staying silent, likely due to Krum's fame as a Quidditch player. He made his way to the front of the hall, walking between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables before turning and heading into the waiting room. The door snapped shut behind him just as the second piece of parchment burst forth from the Goblet, this one with smooth, curvy handwriting. "The champion of Beauxbatons will be Fleur Delacour!"

The silvery blonde rose from the Ravenclaw table to less applause but only slightly. Whatever she didn't get from politeness, she did from excited boys throughout the hall. I'm surprised no one wolf-whistled. The Goblet turned red again and I leaned forward in anticipation to find out who the Hogwarts champion would be. The entire hall was silent as Dumbledore caught the final piece of parchment. I recognized the handwriting and grinned. Only one seventh year had bothered to visit me this year to welcome me. "The champion of Hogwarts will be Cedric Diggory!" he called and Hufflepuff stood and cheered as Cedric headed towards the waiting room, a wide grin on his face.

The door shut once more behind him and Dumbledore clapped his hands in excitement before holding them up for silence. "Now that we have our three champions, I am positive I can count on each and every one of you to support your champion in his or her endeavors throughout the year! We are all going to—"

He stopped speaking suddenly as the blue flames had turned red once again. The flames burned for longer, the red turning from the scarlet of Gryffindor that I had first associated with it to a deep blood red. Two elongated flames thrust forth the piece of parchment and Dumbledore caught it, without the slightest bit of hesitation. My heart stuttered when I saw the handwriting, my head spinning to the Gryffindor table. All of the students appeared confused. All but that one, terrified face.

"Harry Potter…" Dumbledore paused, ignoring the loud whispers that engulfed the hall. "…and Kailey Snape."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Surely, my eyes would fall out of my head, they were so wide. You couldn't possibly open your eyes any wider without them falling out. It was beyond physics and anatomy. I wanted to shake my head, rid myself of the feeling of being hit by a bludger, but I couldn't seem to move. My eyes were locked with the headmaster, who was undoubtedly watching my reaction. I wondered what he would do if my eyes _did_ fall out and even went so far as to hope he was performing legilimancy.

"Kailey, Harry," he called out again, slight impatience seeping into his usually unshakably calm voice.

I could feel everyone's eyes facing us, the two fourth year Gryffindors, sitting across from one another at the table. Hermione nudged me gently, urging me to get up, but I felt like I was frozen to the seat. My head was spinning when I realized that I wasn't breathing. I forced myself to take a breath and stood up, carefully, not trusting myself not to faint at any moment.

That settled any question in my mind about the Mad-Eye Moody imposter: he knew.

I tried to ignore the hissing as I looked over to see Harry staring at me, in equal shock. Looking back at the teachers table, I thought Dumbledore was about to call our names again when I managed to get my feet to move. I reminded myself to breath, keeping my eyes on Dumbledore, hoping desperately that I would not trip. I chanced a glance at Mad-Eye as I turned and headed to the door where the real champions were waiting. He looked pleased.

I opened the door and Harry followed me in, shutting it behind us.

"What iz it? Do zey want us back in ze hall?" Fleur asked, noticing our entrance, whipping her hair over her shoulder. Krum and Cedric looked over in interest.

Suddenly the door burst open and Bagman came bounding into the room, clearly excited to get started. "Quite unorthodox, this," he said happily. "Five champions…and two of them entered on the same piece of parchment! Well, the two of you have already made the history books,"

Fleur laughed. "What a funny joke, meester Bagman,"

"Joke?" he frowned as the other judges came in behind him, followed closely by McGonagall, Moody, Sirius, Keena and my dad. "This is no joke, there are five champions,"

"Madame?" Fleur asked her eyes widening as she wheeled to face her headmistress.

"Zis is most upsetting, Dumblydoor," she said thickly, striding over to stand behind the shocked quarter veela. "Three champions for 'Ogwarts?"

"I agree, Dumbledore, this is mad," Karkaroff fumed.

"Mad? That's all you have to say? This is more than mad! They're fourteen! Dumbledore, they can't compete. You cannot allow this," Keena nearly yelled, clearly far more upset than either of the foreign headmasters.

"They have no choice," it was Crouch who spoke, half concealed by the shadows as he stayed nearest to the door. "They are bound by magical law, to not compete is…impossible,"

"There's no way out?" I whispered, finding my voice for the first time. I wished I sounded braver. "At all?"

"No," Crouch replied shortly.

I felt myself going numb. How could I have let this happen? How could I possibly survive this? I couldn't fight a dragon! Merpeople, sure, no problem, but dragons? And the maze! Merlin, the maze…the portkey…the graveyard…

My breath started coming in gasps as my mind whirled around the possibilities that now stood in front of me. But even worse was the realization that I had only one thing Voldemort would ever have wanted: my knowledge of the future. But how had he _known_?

"Are you trying to insinuate that you didn't put your own names in the Goblet?" Karkaroff's eyes were bulging in rage.

"Of course they didn't! They're fourteen!" Sirius repeated, clearly frustrated with Karkaroff for making the suggestion.

"Well, then, who did?" McGonagall was the one who asked. Dumbledore looked at me.

"Do you have any idea who would have done this?" he asked me, no spark hiding behind his eyes. I glanced at my dad, who looked livid though he'd been silent thus far, then Moody, who looked genuinely interested in my response.

"Yes," I whispered, my head still whirling at the tasks and my breath coming in even shorter gasps. "I know who did it,"

"Who?"

I opened my mouth, fully intent on answering, Mad-Eye's name on my tongue when it happened. At first I felt like I was just choking, my airways cutting off completely before the whirling feeling in my head escalated to a burning pain on the inside of my head and throat. I collapsed to the ground, grasping at my throat, trying to force air down my throat and into my lungs. There was yelling, but the burning in my head made it impossible for me to think, to register what was going on. I wanted so badly to scream and I welcomed the darkness when it came, summoned on by a flash of red light…

**Cliffy! Uh oh! Was it too predictable that there'd be a fifth champ in this? Even if it was, I do have a plan! By the way, the whole newt scenario was inspired by Monty Python and the Holy Grail (also not mine). I hope you enjoyed it and are excited for chapter 12! **

**:-D**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Cursed

**Disclaimed. **

_Keena's Point of View: _

I held Harry back as Dumbledore stunned her. Fleur had screamed and was now leaning into Madame Maxime for support. Cedric had helped me hang onto Harry while Krum and Karkaroff had backed themselves as far from Kailey as possible. Snape, Sirius and Dumbledore were bending over her, trying to make sense of what had happened while the rest of us watched.

"She's been cursed," I muttered as they debated. "But with what, I've got no clue,"

"Who would have cursed a fourth year student?" Bagman wondered.

"Who would have put a fourth year's name in that Goblet?" Moody demanded with a growl. "Probably the same bastard. If he was close enough to get their names in that Goblet, he was close enough to curse her,"

"Regardless, I think it is clear that neither of them were the ones to put the slip into the Goblet," McGonagall stated stiffly. Karkaroff and Maxime both looked as though they'd like to find some way to argue, but nodded in agreement with McGonagall all the same.

"Should we wake her?" Sirius asked, looking at Dumbledore and ignoring our conversation.

Instead of answering, Dumbledore raised his wand, reviving her with a simple flick of his hand. Her eyes fluttered open, her breath coming in slow and even now. She looked like she was about to ask something but Dumbledore held up his hand. "Before you speak, monitor your words. You have been cursed, I'm certain Professor Potter will be able to tell you with what come tomorrow." I raised an eyebrow at his assumption but ended up nodding to myself in the end. "Therefore, I must ask you to stay silent on your knowledge over this matter."

"Sir," she whispered, her voice cracking as she sat up, rubbing her head. _An advanced tongue-tying curse…a newer version…? Something that affects her head…I _will_ have to look…_ "Sir, how will Harry and I compete? Or can one of us get out of it?" Her eyes flickered over to Harry for a brief second before going back to read the Headmaster's expression, which had remained full of doubt.

"Because your names were on the same slip, you shall compete as a duel team, for Hogwarts. Whatever points you score will be averaged together. It will be the same as if there were four champions instead of three," Crouch replied, looking slightly ill in the weak firelight. "Shall we proceed for now, then?" he added, looking to Bagman. His boyish mannerisms had disappeared and he nodded solemnly. "Very well, the first task will test daring so we won't be telling you what it is. You must be able to face the unknown, and you will only receive specific instructions the morning of the task. This will be on November the twenty-fourth. You may ask for no help from any one of your teachers to compete and you will face the first task with only your wands."

"Not to mention, you get out of your end-of-year exams due to how much time you will spend preparing for the tasks," Bagman added, some of his excitement returning. I wanted to smack him.

"Well, if that's all," Sirius said, looking to Dumbledore who nodded. "Harry, Kailey, Cedric, shall we?" he suggested, helping her up and leading her over to where the three of us still stood, Cedric and my hands still clutching the back of Harry's cloak.

We released him and I put an arm around Harry's shoulder while Sirius nodded for Cedric to come with us, half-carrying Kailey who was wobbling slightly. We exited the room into the empty and rather dark Great Hall, the five of us walking at a brisk pace. Sirius and Kailey took the lead, Cedric, Harry and I following closely.

"Sirius?" I wondered aloud as he bypassed both the path to the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor common rooms.

"We need a secure space," he answered vaguely, continuing on his path, though not taking any shortcuts. I didn't ask anymore, but glanced at both Cedric and Harry to find both boys looking at me, questions plain on their faces and I gave an almost non-existent shrug in response.

We arrived in front of a large tapestry moments later and Sirius set Kailey on her feet, pacing back and forth three times before the door appeared. He opened it and gestured for us all to go inside the wide, open room. It held shelves and shelves of books, a table with three chairs surrounding it and three comfier looking chairs that sat in front of a warm fire. He shut the door with a snap and it locked with a click behind him as he led Kailey over to one of the chairs, a small couch appearing next to them out of thin air.

"What is this place?" Cedric asked, sitting down and Harry following in suite as Sirius and I took up seats on the couch. "I've never been in here,"

"This is the Room of Requirement," Sirius replied. "It turns into whatever you need it to, a hiding place, a study place, whatever,"

"Why are you showing it to us?" Harry asked after an exchanged glance with the older boy.

"Because teachers are not allowed to help you," I replied quietly, catching onto Sirius' idea quickly. "And because you can be completely hidden from everyone in here."

"Including Mad-Eye," Harry finished quickly.

"Including Mad-Eye," Sirius agreed, leaning back into the couch, rubbing the back of his neck. "This is a dangerous competition, even more so considering the unexpected entries. I have no doubt Karkaroff can keep Krum alive and Maxime will have Fleur tutored beyond anybody's belief. Dumbledore is the only noble one. So, I want you three to use this room. Only you three," he added seriously.

"You mean no Ron or Hermione?" Kailey whispered, her throat still catching a bit.

"Not yet, at least," I replied gently. "Not until the shock has…died down some,"

Kailey snorted, shaking her head. "Right…like the Slytherins won't have a field day with this one," she rolled her eyes and Harry winced.

"I don't know if I quite understand," Cedric muttered, frowning between Sirius and me.

"What's not to understand?" Sirius asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I mean, I get why you want to protect Harry and even Kailey since you two are such good friends," he said, nodding to the two of them. "But…why me too?" he asked, folding his arms and cocking his head to one side.

Sirius laughed and I smiled a little. "Cedric, just because you aren't a part of our family doesn't mean you shouldn't be protected," Sirius replied. "Something is incredibly wrong about this considering the Goblet was fooled and that makes this tournament even more dangerous than it was a thousand years ago."

"Not to mention, we like you," I added with a small smirk. "You deserved to be the champion of Hogwarts and that means you deserve our respect and as much help as we can give you,"

"But teachers aren't supposed to help us, I don't want to cheat just because the other two schools might," Cedric stated, his Hufflepuff fairness shining through.

"Hence the Room of Requirement," Sirius said, gesturing to the book shelves that lined the walls. "This room is a resource for you to use at your own discretion and we want you to use it to the fullest advantage,"

"Not to mention, Sirius isn't a teacher, just the school Auror," I added with a grin. "And I'm not really a teacher either, I'm a tutor."

"Those are only technicalities," Cedric argued, though he couldn't completely hide a grin.

"And your point is what exactly?" Sirius asked grinning widely in return, throwing his arm over my shoulder. "Such technicalities were the difference between many detentions when I went here,"

"So that's it then? There really is no way for us to get out of this?" Kailey asked, dragging us back to the problem at hand. She looked close to tears. "I knew I shouldn't've let this happen. I should've known something would change for the worse,"

"What do you mean 'change for the worse'?" Sirius asked, frowning.

"I mean I had a plan. I knew what I was going to do, how everything was going to be handled. If there were only _four_ champions. Not five. Not when I _can't_ tell you everything," her tears started spilling over and she put a hand to her forehead as if she had a sudden headache.

"Kailey, you're just fourteen, no one can blame you," I said, leaning towards her, ignoring the looks of confusion on the boys' faces. "This isn't your fault. We will help you and everything will be okay,"

"You don't know what I know," she muttered, looking over into the fire. "And I know this; nothing will be the same come the end of June if we're sent off to compete,"

"How?" Cedric whispered, sounding shell-shocked.

Silence met his question as Harry looked over at me and Sirius. Sirius sighed and looked over at Kailey, who had not reacted at all to Cedric's observational question. "Cedric, we can't answer that without speaking with Dumbledore first," Sirius answered but Kailey looked up, looking slightly confused about Sirius' answer.

"Why do we need permission? It's not like this doesn't already _involve_ him," she said, wiping the tear streaks off of her face. "As long as you're good at keeping secrets," she added, her eyes travelling over to the seventeen-year-old.

"Do I want to know?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her after glancing at Harry, who was looking at the floor with a calculating expression.

"No," she answered, her voice coming out harshly as she gave him a hard stare. He inclined his head a bit in surprise at the tone of her voice and I bit my lip, anticipating only the worst. She had promised to interfere with one thing only: death.

"Then discuss it with Dumbledore first," he replied after giving her a long look. "It isn't as though we don't have time,"

She nodded and resumed looking at the fire and we were all silent for a moment.

Harry looked up then, facing Sirius and me. "You know, I really don't like Halloween,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I didn't sleep that night. It was impossible. I couldn't get over the nauseous feeling in my stomach and there was a dull throbbing in my head every time I thought of the imposter's true identity. I didn't try to say his name aloud, even to myself, fearing that I'd choke on air again. Keena had promised to spend as much time as she could researching the curse and mentioned enlisting the help of Remus and Lily to come up with a counter-curse and the sooner that happened, the better.

At four thirty I admitted defeat to sleep and silently got ready for the day, tossing my hair up in a messy bun, ignoring the fact that the blue that I normally tried to hide would be plain as day in my hair, before going down to the common room. I sat in front of the fireplace and just stared at the blackened embers. The room was still a mess from the night before and I vaguely wondered at how long the party had lasted before one of the portraits had revealed I had been cursed. No one had been in the common room when Harry and I had arrived. Not even Ron or Hermione.

Around six I figured the hall would be open for breakfast and if it wasn't I was just going to head down to the kitchens. I was a little surprised when I walked into the Great Hall to see that there was as handful of students scattered at the other three tables, even a few teachers were sitting up at the table. I sat down and pulled a plate of toast towards myself and began buttering it absent-mindedly.

_Why didn't I do something…? Why did Voldemort want me entered…? _Did_ he want me entered…? Was it because I stared at the Quidditch cup…? Or did he already know about me…? Does he know about me…? If he does, then why hasn't he confronted me…? What do I do about the tasks…? Gillyweed will work fine for the second task, as long as it's the same…but broom riding to get past the damn dragon…? Is it bad that I hope it's still dragons…? Because I do…There's got to be a better way than just riding past the thing…maybe if I were a diversion…a distraction…that can't take much skill and I wouldn't need a very fast broom for that…well…I'll make certain it's still dragons first…_

"Excusez-moi, mademoiselle, but I could not 'elp but notice you are…distracted," I jumped and looked up to see the blonde boy from Beauxbatons who I had noticed the first night. I blinked at him, confused but he only grinned and gestured to my plate, which was overflowing with buttered toast.

I gave a small, nervous laugh and shoved the plates back towards the center of the table. "Sorry, I guess I've got a lot on my mind," I replied with a slight shrug.

"Oui, zat is understandable. Madame Maxime and Fleur explained what 'as 'appened to you," he said with a nod, taking the seat next to me. "Are you feeling better zis morning?"

What I wanted to say was 'Of course not! I've been cursed to choke on air!' but what actually came out was "A little bit, yeah,"

He gave me a small smile which I returned. "Eef you do not mind my asking, your accent…it iz…?"

"American," I answered quickly. "I grew up in America, with my mom,"

"Ah, well, 'ave you ever seen ze statue of liberty?" he asked, grinning as if he had a good secret.

"Once, when I was very young, she's quite the good-looking French lady," I answered, expecting his grin to fade, but it only widened.

"Oui, but did you know she was built with secret runes 'idden inside of ze book and torch?" he confided and my grin morphed into a look of surprise.

"No, I didn't know that," I answered, tilting my head. "What's written?"

"Zat iz just it, no one can remember," he replied in a whisper.

I frowned before raising an eyebrow. "You're joking," I laughed when he winked.

He began to laugh with me. "Oui, I am, I 'ope you do not mind, mademoiselle, but you needed a laugh,"

I smiled. "I did thanks…um…?"

"Oh, I am sorry, I 'ave been rude, my name is Leon Lapierre," he said, holding out his hand. I thought it was to shake, so I gave him mine but he pressed a quick kiss to the back of my hand and I blushed. "It iz nice to finally meet you, Kailey Snape," he added with a grin, his blue eyes gazing at my face.

"It's nice to meet you, Leon," I replied, smiling in return as he stood and headed over to the Ravenclaw table where his friends were sitting. I looked back at the stack of toast for a moment before shrugging to myself, grabbing a napkin and taking six pieces back to the tower with me.

Half way to the common room, I ran into Ron, who looked predictably frustrated and I sighed as he walked by me without a word. "Ron?" I called, hoping to diffuse at least a small bit of his anger.

He paused and turned to face me. "What?" he was obviously trying not to glare at me.

"If you're going to be mad at someone, be mad at me or the person who did this, but not Harry, he's the only one who had no control over the situation," I requested.

"Oh, don't worry, Kailey, I am mad at you, but that doesn't stop me from being angry with him as well. You just had to hand him the spotlight, didn't you?" he replied before turning back around and heading down the stairs without waiting for a reply.

I sighed again, pushing the nauseous feeling back which had temporarily disappeared while I was with Leon. I looked down at the toast again before continuing up the stairs. I met Hermione a corridor away from the Fat Lady and she grinned when she spotted me carrying the toast.

"I was already down there, I just thought I'd save you the trip," I said as we neared one another, shrugging and offering her some of the toast, which she took gratefully. We got back to the portrait but I stopped her from opening it. "I don't know if I wanna go in there with everyone awake," I muttered.

"Are you sure?" she asked, giving me a worried look. "I don't know if it's such a good idea for you to be out here alone,"

"What am I, then? A muggle picture?" the Fat Lady interrupted, insult clearly shown on her painted face.

Hermione sighed. "I'll just go and get Harry, then, shall I?"

I grinned and gave a nod as she entered through the portrait, the Fat Lady huffing under her breath the entire time.

I heard some clapping and a couple of cheers come from the other side of the portrait and moments later the Fat Lady swung open revealing a worried Hermione and a frustrated Harry. I opened my mouth to ask, but Hermione shook her head frantically behind Harry to silence me and I closed my mouth. Harry stormed by me and Hermione and I followed him out of the castle and onto the grounds.

"Harry?" I asked quietly once we were a good distance away from the castle. He didn't reply so I assumed he hadn't heard me. "Harry?" I tried again, louder. He looked over at me, wiping most of the angry look off of his face. "Ron will come around soon,"

"Yeah, thanks for the warning," he replied sarcastically.

"Would you rather I tell you the exact date on which you two will become best mates again? November twenty-fourth, just after we finish the first task," I snapped quickly. "Assuming it's what I think it is, of course," I added.

"Well things are already going so well, aren't they?" he replied. "Tell me, were you planning to just let me be the fourth champion then? Or was that a surprise too?"

"Harry, Kailey, stop it," Hermione commanded before I could reply, though Harry and I continued glaring at each other. "I mean it, this is really serious. You two can't afford to fight right now, not when your lives so clearly are going to be depending on one another,"

We fumed in silence for a moment before I sighed and looked away from both of them. "As far as I know, Harry should--" I paused as my head began to ache. I gave a sigh. "Just, don't worry about who of you four lives and who dies, I'll handle it,"

"And you?" Harry nearly growled, none of his anger having disappeared.

"Look, I will speak with Dumbledore. I'll tell him what I can and that's the best I can do. We're forced to compete in this damn thing, I'm not about to let anyone die," I answered coolly. "For now, you and I need to perfect a few spells,"

"Such as?"

"The summoning spell wouldn't be a bad choice," I answered as we resumed our walk. "Course, there's the off chance that I'm wrong and we're not facing what I think we're facing,"

"Which would be what, exactly? I could help you with research," Hermione offered, looking as though she were about to start offering up book titles.

I shook my head in reply. "I don't want to say in case I'm wrong. No need to cause unnecessary…um…well, anxiety I suppose,"

"No offense, Kailey, but no matter what this task ends up being, it is going to cause anxiety," Harry replied, not looking at me. "This whole year is going to cause anxiety," he added in a low undertone.

"Not the whole year," I disagreed, thinking of the ball. Then I remembered I was supposed to dance in front of everyone. "Wait…never mind…that will be stressful as well,"

"What will?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at me, but Hermione let out an excited gasp before giggling. "Hermione?"

"Er…don't worry about it, Harry," she answered, swallowing her laughter, though we both burst out laughing again when I caught her eye. Harry rolled his eyes, but he let it drop all the same.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I let out a frustrated growl as I chucked another book aside. Sirius looked up at me from the couch in our rooms, scratching his chin with the quill he was holding. "You're going through those books rather quickly, aren't you?" he asked.

"No, I'm not," I said, leaning forward and rubbing my eyes with my elbows resting on my knees.

"Then what's your method? Obviously I'm doing something wrong if I'm still on my first book," he replied, ignoring my short temper.

"I'm looking for a way to fix her, you're looking for what's wrong with her," I answered, opening my eyes and reaching for another book. It was the last one we had. I sighed and just stared at it, not comprehending the title at all.

"Shouldn't you know what's wrong with her before you fix her?" he said, noticing how I had stopped and coming over to sit next to me, shoving discarded books and notes out of his way.

"Well, love, it's some kind of tongue tying curse, I was hoping you might've run into it by now," I answered, stretching my neck before flipping the book open to the table of contents. "Wish I could go back to Potter Mansion and check out the library there…" I muttered as I scanned the curses that were listed before flipping to the index.

"If I weren't nervous that Mad-Eye could see through a Polyjuice, I'd tell you to switch with Lily for a bit and I could with James." Sirius replied, reading his book again, using the quill to keep track of where he was on the page.

"He didn't use to be able to," I murmured, glancing over at Sirius' book. I grabbed his hand just as his quill reached a set of parenthesis.

"_An example of such abuses of the Tongue-Tying curse would be a variation which causes the victim to not only be incapable of speech, but incapable of successful respiratory motions.' _But that's all it says on it," he frowned, quickly reading the rest of the page.

"Doesn't matter, there has to be a foot note or works cited of some sort," I said, pulling the book closer to me so that it was half way onto my lap. There was a small number 142 above the words and I held my finger in the page as I flipped to the back of the book. "There, you see?" I cried triumphantly pointing to the cited book title. "The information on that variation of the curse should be in that book and it was invented in 1647, making it a fairly new curse. C'mon, to the library," I grinned, tugging Sirius up with me.

We raced to the library and over to the Restricted Section where we each began scanning the shelves before I got annoyed and tried to summon the book. Instead, Madame Pince made her way over to us and glared at me over the rims of her pointed glasses. "And just what do you think you are doing trying to summon a book from _my _library, Professor Potter?"

"I need to find this book," I replied, showing her the title. "If it is in here then I have a higher chance of figuring out how to reverse the curse placed on Ms. Snape," I added.

She sniffed and turned around to face the bookshelf on the opposite side of the aisle I had looked through. She plucked a rather large, brown leather volume and handed it to me. "Next time, try asking for help."

I hardly said thank you as I found myself a table and began flipping through the book, intent on finding the curse. I didn't notice Sirius sit down until he moved his chair right next to mine. "Find it?"

"Sh," I muttered, my eyes scanning the page.

"Okay, sorry," he mumbled, though I could tell he was smirking by the sound of his voice.

"Got it!" I cried, pointing at the curse. "And, better yet, there's a counter-curse already in exist…oh, for the love of…" I trailed off as I read the conditions of the counter-curse.

"What?" Sirius asked, trying to read over my shoulder, which failed miserably as I slumped forward onto the book. "Keena?"

I sighed and heaved myself off of the book and read, "_However, the incantation of the counter-curse is only properly effective if said by the original caster, making this variation of the Tongue-Tying curse the most dangerous. If another caster attempts to release the victim, the victim will be forced to keep silent on whatever the original caster intended to keep secret forever._" I looked up at Sirius and frowned. "Whoever did this has gone to an awful lot of trouble not to get caught,"

"But are we certain that this is the variation of the curse that was used?"

I shook my head. "Doesn't matter; we can't risk that we're wrong because we don't know what exactly she has to keep secret. It could be multiple things or just one giant umbrella of a curse, covering everything,"

"Can't you and Moony just invent a new counter-curse?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head. I shook my head again. "Why not?"

"Too dangerous," I answered, standing up. "C'mon, we need to tell Dumbledore."

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"So let me get this straight…" I said, angrily, as I paced the floor in the headmaster's office. Fawkes was sitting on my shoulder, letting out annoyed little squawks every time I made a sharp turn, though he had yet to bite me. "You don't want me to tell you…_anything_ about the tournament?"

"Anything is a very broad definition," Dumbledore replied, leaning back in his large chair behind his cluttered desk, which was currently covered in several piles of ashes from what I only assumed to be burned howlers.

"Nothing about the tasks, then?" I asked, narrowing down the definition of 'anything'. Fawkes nipped at my hair as I made another reckless turn.

"Correct," he replied, bowing his head lightly.

"Well then, sir, how am I supposed to tell you if there is a risk of a death or not?" I asked, stopping short. Fawkes gave my hair another tug and the makeshift bun I had put my hair up in that morning gave way, but I ignored him as he continued to nip at the hair elastic.

The elderly wizard gave a great sigh and closed his eyes. "There will be a death by the end then?" he didn't open his eyes, forcing me to reply out loud.

"One I am almost certain of, two others I'm not sure about," I answered.

"Are they preventable?"

"Only if I can get through telling you without…you know," I rubbed my neck subconsciously and Fawkes curled himself between my shoulder and neck as if he could tell what I was afraid of. "Then you need to remember that I didn't know there would be five of us, only four. Not to mention without knowing what the tasks are makes the chance that I am wrong higher,"

"Kailey, you are acting under the assumption that I do not know what the tasks will be," Dumbledore replied, opening his eyes, the annoying twinkle present for the first time throughout our conversation. "I am under oath not to say what they are for obvious reasons,"

"Would you let me know if I was wrong? I mean, it's obvious that there are lives at risk here," I asked, resuming my pacing, but going much more slowly, to Fawkes' pleasure I'm sure.

"What will you tell Harry?"

I liked how he didn't tell me _not_ to tell Harry. "And Cedric," I added with a grin.

"That is hardly sportsman like,"

"Look, sir, I know the others will cheat. So long as I'm right," I added hastily. "The only one that matters is the first task anyway,"

"Kailey—"

"Are you under an Unbreakable Vow?"

"That is—"

"Are you?" I repeated, cutting him off a second time. He stayed silent, though the twinkle in his eye did not disappear. "Then you can tell me if I'm wrong about the tasks being dragons, underwater retrieval and a maze,"

He sighed with a slight frown. "Then we must also assume you are right about the death,"

"Possible death," I corrected, sitting down, my mood suddenly improving. Fawkes fluttered down to sit on my lap and I stroked his head without thinking about it. "During the third task, well, technically after,"

"What shall happen?"

I stayed quiet for a moment, not expecting him to ask me so directly but I swallowed. "There will be a—" I froze as a headache suddenly made me feel nauseous. My throat dried out and I took a deep breath to keep my heart from racing. "The one who—" the headache intensified to a migraine, but the headmaster made no move to stop me. "Voldemort is planning—" my vision began to swim and I was panting with effort.

"It's alright, Kailey, just tell me who needs protection," Dumbledore said, leaning forward in his chair, his wand in his hand on top of his desk.

I swallowed again. "The one in danger is—" a dull burning sensation swept down my throat. "The champion of—" I hissed in pain and brought one hand to my head, the other to my throat. "Sir…I can't…" I mumbled, and the pounding and burning immediately began subsiding.

Just then there was a knock at the door and we both frowned at one another. The password had just been changed and Dumbledore had ensured me that he would be alerted if anyone gave the gargoyle (Steve) the password.

"Ah, it must be Professor Potter," he murmured. "Come in," he called and sure enough the door opened to reveal Keena and Sirius. "I trust you have good news for us?"

Sirius closed the door behind them and Keena came and sat next to me and Fawkes, opening a book to a page she had saved with her finger. Without saying anything, she placed the book in front of Dumbledore, who pulled it towards himself. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Sirius watching the headmaster's reaction.

"What's going on?" I whispered when the twinkle disappeared from Dumbledore's eyes again.

"I'm afraid, Kailey that you shall remain cursed until the culprit is caught or until he or she lifts the curse," he explained, looking worn and tired.

So then it was official. I was cursed.

**Kay, so I know it's been a really long time (which is why I saved my rambling for the end). I hope you enjoyed it and I hope to have the next chapter up ASAP! Shout out to ****liv2luv**** for being the first to review in 8 chapters! Thanks for the feedback, I really do appreciate it! Please continue to tell me what you think! Next is Chapter 13!**

**:-D **


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Snapped

**Disclaimed, for the 127****th**** time, it all goes to JK. And yes, I've written 127 chapters for this series. Cool, huh?**

**Drabble at the end, enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

The next few days back at school were awful. There were only two opinions going around the school; either Harry cursed me and had us entered or something had gone wrong as we entered as a pair and the curse on me was the result. Nobody even tried to believe the fact that neither of us had put our names in the goblet, not even the Gryffindors. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws alike were all for believing the worst in Harry, some muttering about how he had 'possibly' petrified Hermione and me two years ago, the Slytherins egging them on every chance they got. They weren't so surprised that I was cursed as they were that he was 'sharing the glory' with me. Some students were even skeptical of Sirius, though those rumors were quickly dispelled when Keena tutored a couple of students and nearly burst into tears at hearing them accuse Sirius. That, however, gave the Slytherins more ammunition against Harry and me.

"Nice of you to make your only relative cry, Potter," Malfoy sneered after Care of Magical Creatures. "Then again, you could always just curse her for it, right?"

"Leave it alone," Hermione mumbled, again, steering the two of us away so that the other Gryffindors could stand as a buffer between Malfoy and us as we walked back to the castle, Dean and Seamus caring enough to tell Malfoy to shove off, using much more obscene words of course. Ron stayed silent, though he was glaring at the Slytherins. I just tried to tune them all out. The key word there was 'try'.

"Go on and protect him and his little muddy half-blood!"

All of the tension I had been feeling over the weekend snapped and I lunged at Malfoy, wand out, and began sending hexes at him. Apparently he had been fishing for a fight, because his wand was already in his hand when I issued out my first hex. He blocked it and we began dueling, both of us using higher level curses than those of fourth year. I was barely aware of the yelling that was going on around us, the noise only registering as a dull hum of activity. I quickly ran out of familiar curses, but my wand and my magic were still active, firing off spells and jinxes that I didn't even recognize at first.

I finally managed to get him in the wand arm with a stinging hex before I relieved him of his wand, but my anger wasn't fully out yet. I caught his wand in my left hand and paused, both wands aimed one at his chest and one at his head, my right arm arched above my head my left arm pointing straight at him. Everything was silent for that one short second before I gave a great sweeping motion and screamed out "_Reducto_!"

The silent houses shouted out in surprise before anybody realized I hadn't actually hit Malfoy, or any_one_ for that matter. Instead, there was now an enormous crater smoldering between Malfoy and myself. It was at least twelve feet in diameter and depth and the heat coming out of it reminded me briefly of a bonfire. Both houses were silent as I stared at the hole in front of me, glaring, and thinking.

"Draco," I called, reverting to an old American habit and looking up to see the blonde boy looking startled by the use of his first name, ash streaks all over his face and cloak. There were burn marks where my spells had hit, though there was no other obvious damage and I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that we were both very lucky I hadn't gotten off a good shot. "Don't _ever_ say the words 'mud' and 'blood' in the same sentence ever again."

He didn't reply or nod, he just stared. I dropped his wand on the ground, a foot from the crater. I looked over towards the castle to see Sirius heading towards us, looking thoroughly pissed off. He halted between the two groups and stared at the crater for half a moment before looking up between me and Malfoy.

"How many detentions would you like us to serve, Auror Black?"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Sounds like a mess," I replied when Sirius finished telling me what Kailey and Draco had done. "And she claims to have used both wands at once?"

"Yeah, I thought it was weird too, I don't think Voldemort ever even got that angry," he replied, playing with a strand of my hair. We were sitting in front of the fire in our quarters, waiting for Remus to give us an update on how things were at Potter Mansion.

"Well, that bastard had better watch his step if that's how she reacts to a fourth year. She could've killed him, you know," I muttered, shaking my head. "What are you going to do about it?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure how many detentions that sort of thing is worth. Obviously she was restrained enough not to kill him but…I'm not sure," he finished after struggling to say something more for a minute. "I mean, I'd give her a month but, considering the time constraints already placed on her, I can't bring myself to do that,"

"You know, we'll have to tell Severus," I sighed, saying 'we' when I meant 'you'. The potions master would be furious and I had no intention of being there when he found out. "And I think you should let Dumbledore know as well,"

"Dumbledore should know what?" Remus' voice came from the fireplace. His head was balancing in the green flames, looking curiously between the two of us.

"Kailey got into a fight today," Sirius replied. Remus raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt throughout the story before giving his opinion when Sirius finished.

"She's stressed out because of the tournament and Malfoy struck a nerve. I'd just go with a week's worth of detentions," he said knowledgably.

"I might just do that," Sirius muttered, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Now, how goes things back home?"

"She's still in a bit of a shock but her anger has simmered down some. He's fine as far as I can tell but…well, you know him and expressing emotions," Remus rolled his eyes. We had agreed early on that no names or key words would be discussed over the floo. We didn't even use James and Lily's nicknames for fear that someone would figure it out on the off chance that the floo was tapped into. "Honestly, I think he was expecting something like this. But our efforts have more than doubled and the living room has been turned into another library and the house elves are ecstatic about all the new work they've been given." He added, referring to the hunt for more horcruxes and their locations.

"I'll bet they are…" I mumbled, rolling my own eyes. "Are you using all of the libraries?" I asked, shifting my weight so I was leaning closer to Sirius. The Potter family owned several houses, all but one or two containing expansive libraries. The only book that was ever doubled were the _Hogwarts, a History_ books and only because they were updated versions.

"Yeah and I've been trying to get better access to more foreign places but it hasn't been working out and I don't think leaving the country is a good idea at the moment. You do realize that your wedding has probably just been delayed, don't you?"

I sighed and nodded, but Sirius frowned. "I don't see how, we haven't set a date yet,"

"Sirius, they can't come until this is all sorted out,"

He nearly let out a growl. "This conspiracy is killing me,"

Remus and I ignored him.

"Have you had any luck on your end?" Remus asked, looking between the two of us.

"All traces of everything belonging to little miss smarty-pants disappeared centuries ago," Sirius replied, shaking his head. "And we don't exactly have as free of an access here as we thought we would," Moody had seemed to show up wherever Sirius went, claiming that he wanted to help his past protégé with his current job and reminisce about old times.

"Especially considering the new development," I added, referring to the fourth and fifth champions. "Mainly because it means someone was able to sneak by us all without a problem, making our conversations…unsafe."

Remus sighed. "It's happening again,"

"We all knew it would," Sirius stated. "And we will beat it this time," he added confidently.

Remus didn't reply, but he looked inclined to agree with Sirius. "Well I'd better go and let them know. Harry really didn't get involved in that fight at all?"

"Nope, it was all her, even Malfoy said so and you know how much he would've liked to get Harry into trouble as well." Sirius replied shaking his head.

Remus frowned. "You know…she's been threatened with expulsion before,"

"So?" I asked, frowning as well. "What would that have to do with anything?"

"If she got herself expelled, she would no longer be eligible for the tournament," he finished warily. "You don't think she's thought of that, do you?"

"Merlin I hope not, it would probably get her killed," Sirius muttered. "We'd better go and see Dumbledore about it now," he added to me, standing up.

"I'll be back later on," Remus said. "Good luck, give Harry and Kailey my best,"

His head disappeared and the green flames shrank down and turned into a dull orange glow, deep in the blackened coals.

The walk to the headmaster's office was silent at first, though Sirius never removed his arm from around my shoulders. I brushed my fingers against the ring on my finger and gave a mental sigh before leaning my head against his shoulder as we walked. "What's wrong?" he asked, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"I just want one normal year for him, Sirius, that's all. Just one," I sighed.

"I know, love, I do too but the best we can do is to keep him safe and get him through this thing," he replied quietly.

"But how can we do that when he doesn't bother to come and see us about it?" I asked, looking up at him, feeling nervous.

"He will, and if he doesn't I'll go and talk to him, get him to come around." He answered as we came up to the gargoyle. It leapt aside and gave me a wink without waiting for a password as usual. Once at the top of the stairs we knocked on the door and were given the usual quiet command to 'come in,' by the headmaster.

"Keena, Sirius, to what do I owe the surprise?" Dumbledore asked, not even bothering to glance up from his desk. The ashes from the howler he had received from Lily were gone, though I suspected he was probably expecting more as his window was still open, the shimmering light of a silencing spell surrounding the edges of the tiny window.

"There was a pretty serious fight today, sir," I said solemnly.

"No, Keena, there was a fight between Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Snape, I didn't do anything, but thanks for calling me—ow!" he muttered as I elbowed him in the ribs.

Dumbledore chuckled as I rolled my eyes, taking a seat across from his desk. "As I was saying," I said pointedly, glaring at Sirius who sat down, rubbing where I had hit him. "Kailey and Malfoy got into a nasty one today,"

"That description coming from you of all people makes me nervous, Keena," he sighed, laying down his quill and bringing his hands together at the fingertips. "Was anyone seriously injured?"

"The grounds were," Sirius replied carefully as I shot him a warning look. "According to Kailey, and to Hermione I might add, both of them were using very advanced spells until she got his wand and proceeded to create a crater in the ground with a reducto,"

"But no one was hurt?"

"Luckily," Sirius said. "They all claim, even the Slytherins, that Kailey used both wands to make the crater."

"We think, though this is all supposition, that maybe she's trying to get herself expelled? Or if she hasn't thought of it, she might and then she might try," I finished worriedly. "And that could have seri—disastrous results for her because of the curse," I said, changing my wording before another horrendous pun could be made.

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "You are quite right, but let us not plant the thought in her head. What have you decided to do as punishment?"

"Maybe a week's worth of detentions? I don't want to take up too much of her time, she'll need to be preparing with Harry for the first task,"

"Perhaps you should do that. I am sure Mr. Malfoy caused her to burst forth in this matter in any case. I would call it nervous stress, especially since she managed not to injure any surrounding her," Dumbledore agreed, lifting a quill and dipping it into his ink bottle. "I will tell Severus," he added and I watched with curiosity before smiling to myself as his quill traced out letters on the parchment.

"Not in a letter, I certainly hope Professor," I grinned.

He paused and looked up at us. "You think not?"

"He may aim his own reducto at the letter sir, and then what would happen?" I asked, ignoring Sirius who was sniggering next to me.

He sighed and siphoned the ink off of the parchment, directing it back into the bottle. "I had better not waste this then,"

Sirius and I laughed out loud and Fawkes twittered happily from his perch. "Honestly, sir, a letter?"

Dumbledore chuckled lightly and shook his head before sobering himself. "And how is young Mr. Potter taking this?"

Our smiles faded and we glanced at one another warily. "We're not sure," Sirius admitted. "He hasn't been to see us about it by himself. Is that normal?"

"Of a teenage boy who has grown up unaccustomed to trusting adults? Certainly not uncommon I wouldn't think," Dumbledore replied and I felt some tiny part of my brain relax. "It would not go amiss to have him summoned well within this week. Preferably before the weighing of the wands on Friday,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

We were heading out of the Great Hall when Sirius caught up with Hermione, Harry and me. He wanted to talk to Harry so I got saddled with an extra bag as Harry went off with his godfather in search of his godmother.

"It's about time," I muttered as soon as they were out of hearing range. "I mean, come on, he's been dying to talk to them and too chicken to do it himself," I mumbled, adjusting the way I was carrying the books.

"It's probably best that he waited I think," Hermione said thoughtfully, as I stumbled and lost all of my books and two of Harry's. Neither of us moved to pick them up, we just stared. "Are you going to get them?"

"Nope,"

Silence.

"Are you?"

"They're yours,"

"Right,"

A heavy sigh.

"You're really not going to bend over?"

"Nope,"

Suddenly a blue-cloaked arm collided with a red-cloaked arm over the offending books, causing both Hermione and me to jump out of our rather dull conversation. One arm turned out to belong to Leon and the other to Viktor Krum. They ended up staring at one another in confusion before Leon broke the silence.

"Eef you do not mind, I was just about to 'elp zese lovely ladies,"

"Vell," Krum said, not moving his hand from the three books he was sheltering. "I can see that. Vould you allow me to assist you?"

Leon inclined his head before giving a quick nod and suddenly they were scurrying to collect the most books. I blinked and looked at Hermione, whose face was slowly turning pink as she watched the two boys squabble, various foreign oaths slipping through their lips at times. I turned back to face them to see that Leon had managed to get a hold of five books and Krum held three, though both were panting slightly.

"'Ere you are, mademoiselle," Leon smiled, holding the books out to me.

"Thanks," I grinned in return, swinging Harry's bag onto my other shoulder and holding mine open for him. He gently dropped in the books and managed to get the zipper shut all the way. I turned to Krum and held Harry's bag open, though he looked disappointed that Hermione made no move to claim the books herself.

Krum bowed to me first then to Hermione (who blushed) before he headed out of the hall, luckily without his usual entourage. Leon looked after him with a raised eyebrow before turning back to us.

"Iz it just me, or did 'e seem a leetle angry?"

"No, not angry," I grinned, glancing at Hermione. "I think you just managed to hurt his pride," Leon's smile widened and he nodded in agreement. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm being rude. Hermione, this is Leon Lapierre. Leon, this is my friend Hermione,"

"'Ermioneigh," he repeated, holding out his hand and only shaking hers, though he did give her a wink. "Well, Kailey, I 'ope I did not offend your competitor too 'arshly," he winked and it was my turn to blush. He bid us goodnight and made his way out of the hall swiftly, turning at the door to give us a grin and a wave which we both returned.

Hermione giggled as soon as he was out of sight and I began blushing again. "Who would've thought you would see anyone beat Viktor Krum in a speed competition?" she laughed a little louder at this as we began heading for the common room.

"Well, that's not quite the sort of pride I was referring to," I grinned, dodging a swat on the arm from Hermione. "No, I mean it, I think he was upset that all the books were in my possession,"

Hermione blushed again but giggled nonetheless.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Oh, there you are," I grinned, stepping back from the doorway to allow Sirius and Harry to enter our quarters. "I was just about to go looking for you," I explained, holding my arms open for a hug from Harry, which I received.

"Am I in trouble?" Harry asked cautiously, looking from me to Sirius once the three of us had gotten ourselves situated on the couch in front of the fire.

"Did you do something wrong recently, Prongsling?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry shook his head. "No I just thought…what did you call me?" the corners of his lips were turned up, though he looked like he was trying to sound annoyed. He was failing at it.

"Prongsling," Sirius replied promptly. "It's the nickname I gave you when you were born. We were going to raise you Marauder style and that automatically warrants a nickname,"

"And since you don't have your own form yet you got saddled with latching onto Prongs' nickname," I finished, ruffling Harry's hair. "And no, you're not in trouble, Harry,"

"Oh," he answered, looking into the fire with a calculating expression.

"Would you like to talk about anything, Harry?" I prodded, noticing his hands balling up into fists as he clutched at his robes.

He took a deep breath. "It's just…just…" he paused and shook his head, looking down at his hands to avoid our eyes. "Last year…last year it was hard enough to find out I had a godfather who'd been imprisoned and then I go and learn my godmother set him loose and that was just the beginning. Next thing I know, he kidnaps my best friend who happened to _be_ my godmother and they disappear for a week. A week! The whole time I was trying to figure out how to save you," he paused from his rushing tirade, looking up at me. "You and her both. But then you were at the Shrieking Shack and you changed into a wolf and I knew the dog was you," he paused again and looked at Sirius, whose face was carefully attentive. "Then we actually met and the next thing I know, you're innocent and Wormtail is alive! I didn't think life could get any better than at that moment and suddenly Remus transforms and I thought my whole world was going to fall apart just as it had come together. I thought I was going to lose the closest person I'd had to a mother…"

He trailed off for a moment, breathing hard. I leaned over and pulled him into an embrace and he wrapped his arms around mine. "I'm so sorry, Harry," I whispered. "The only thing I was worried about when Remus changed was you, Harry, I couldn't let anything happen to you,"

"But it would have happened to me, just by happening to you," he muttered. "But that wasn't the end of the night." He said, pulling away from me, his eyes shining. "Not at all."

"Harry, have you…spoken to anyone…about any of this?" Sirius asked cautiously. Harry shook his head. Sirius lifted his wand and set a silencing spell around the room and locked the door. "Well go on then, let it out."

He opened and closed his mouth several times, his tears spilling over and he rocketed himself off of the couch, glaring into the fire.

"HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO ME?" his shout was wrought with agony and sorrow and my heart clenched, my eyes stung. "HOW COULD THEY LEAVE ME? WHAT WAS SO BAD THAT THEY HAD TO STAY AWAY? THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO HIDE! THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO!" he turned back around to face us and I realized that Sirius was standing and I was half-way up, my hands stretching towards him, tears making tracks down my face.

Sirius engulfed him in a hug this time, holding Harry close, his hand on the back of his head. "It's going to be alright now, Harry, it's going to be alright," he whispered when the only sounds from Harry were sobs.

I stood and went behind Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's not fair, Harry," I began and Harry let out another loud cry and I had to force myself not to tremble. "They shouldn't have done what they did…not at all, but I want you to know that they have never stopped loving you, not for a second,"

"Then…why?" his strangled whisper tore through my last reserve and Sirius released him as I pulled him into a hug of my own. "Why?" he whispered again.

"They thought they were doing what was best at the time," Sirius replied gently. "That doesn't make it right, but they are trying,"

"I…I know…" he whispered.

We took him back to the dorm together after he had had time to calm himself down enough to face the girls and their natural feminine curiosity. I don't think either of us was shocked by his outburst. I was just a little surprised he had managed to keep it bottled up for so long. We got back to our quarters and Sirius replaced the silencing spells and locked the door.

"Could I have a pillow from the bedroom, love?" I asked politely. He nodded and summoned one, handing it to me. "Thank you," I said before burying my face in the thickest section of feathers I could find before screaming as loud as I could for as long as I could. When I was done I handed the pillow back to Sirius who tucked it under one arm and wrapped the other around my shoulder, leading me into the bedroom.

"Better?" he asked, shutting the door behind us.

"Yes, very much, how did you know?" I enquired, referring to the precautionary spells as I sat down on my bed.

"Your face was turning bright red the entire way back from the common room," he replied gently, sitting down next to me. I nodded stiffly. "Don't even start to think on it," he added abruptly.

I frowned and looked at him.

"Don't play games with me, I know what you're planning on doing,"

I gave an aggravated sigh. "And here I was, thinking a good prank would do me well,"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Keena," he nearly growled, forcing me to look at his face. "It isn't your fault. Lily and James knew what they were getting themselves into, don't feel guilty about it,"

I sighed and turned away from him, lying down on the bed. "Amazing how the paparazzi can pick up on that one bit of gossip that's true and blow it beyond what it ever was,"

"Yeah, well it's a good thing because I wouldn't've been told by you otherwise, would I have?" he accused, though I could tell he wasn't serious about the accusation.

I grinned. "You know me too well, love, I like my secrets to stay the way they are,"

"They have gotten rather creative recently, you must admit," he grinned in reply, lying down beside me, propping himself up on one elbow.

"Fill me in, I haven't bothered with the _Prophet_ in a while," I requested, turning my head to look at him.

"Well, there's Aunty Alcohol," he began. "The Pissed Potter, though that one was also mentioning anger issues," he teased and I rolled my eyes.

"Any others?"

"One that was rather far behind said Margarita McIntosh,"

"I'll have to write to them, that name is useless at this point. If they're going to take a go at me, they might as well get my name straight," I laughed, looking up at the ceiling to shake my head. "Any others?"

"The only other notable one was Kocktail Keena, spelled with a 'k' of course,"

"How artful,"

I rolled over on my side to face him to find there was no longer space between us. "Great minds think alike," he grinned and I closed the remaining bit of space between our faces.

Suddenly there was a loud banging noise coming from outside our quarters. I wanted to growl in frustration, but didn't bother because he wasn't letting me pull away. The banging intensified after a few minutes until it finally stopped. I sighed in contentment as we continued kissing one another.

"Excuse me,"

I nearly let out a shriek as the sound of a rather disgruntled voice broke through and we looked up to see the Ravenclaw ghost staring at us, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

"Can we help you?" Sirius asked through clenched teeth.

"The headmaster wishes to see you. He's waiting just outside." She replied.

"Bloody conspiracy," I muttered as Sirius stood up and stormed towards the doors to our quarters.

**There's the end of that one! Sorry it took so long! I wrote the whole thing, hated it, deleted it then rewrote it! Eh, happens, right? Next up is 14! Reviews make me smile!**

**:-D**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: Jealous

**Disclaimed. **

**Here it goes! Enjoy! Drabble at the end!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

"How strong are the silencing wards currently in place on your quarters?" Dumbledore asked when the Gray Lady and I reentered the living room. He was sitting in the big chair that resided next to our couch and Sirius was standing by the fire, watching me enter with the ghost.

"Not strong enough," Sirius replied, shooting a blast at the fire, allowing it to re-ignite with full force. "We heard you knocking,"

"My apologies," he didn't look apologetic.

I rolled my eyes and sat down heavily on the couch, crossing my legs and folding my arms as I stared at the headmaster, waiting for him to explain as soon as he finished replacing our wards. "A privacy shield mist might do well," I suggested quietly. "I've looked and Mad-Eye's eye should be clouded by it if it's done right and considering you've got the castle's magic on your side as well it shouldn't be too difficult."

He nodded and raised his wand once more and a shimmering curtain of gold showered out of his wand and hung in the air, reflecting from the light of the candles and fire to the point that it was a constant glow no matter where you looked. "Now, onto business; Sirius, Keena, I introduce to you the Gray Lady, ghost of Ravenclaw House." Her nearly transparent outline curtsied and I bowed my head in reply as Sirius, who was still standing, gave her a proper, pure-blood taught bow.

"What news do you have for us, fair lady?" Sirius asked, taking a seat beside me. His formality was odd, but I figured he was just trying to speed things up. The ghosts generally appreciated being treated in whatever mannerisms had suited their day and if her curtsy was anything to go by, she expected almost royal treatment.

"Professor Dumbledore has told me that there is some interest in objects owned once by Rowena Ravenclaw," she replied, almost stiffly. "I am here to tell you of her lost diadem,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Can we please cut class? Just this once?" I begged Friday morning. "I swear, I'll never ever ask again, and we can say we were practicing your summoning charm, Harry, and that we lost track of time,"

There had been a rather loud explosion of noise yesterday and it was followed quickly by everyone in the school gathering around the corridor in which Dumbledore's office resided. I'd had a nasty feeling as to who was making the racket and had taken the precaution of standing behind Fred and George, both of whom easily hid my smaller frame. When the gargoyle had bounded out of the way (across the hallway as a matter of fact) it left no doubt in my mind that my dad had just learned about what I had done and how short my punishment would be.

He'd come out like a bat out of Hell and began docking points the moment he saw a Gryffindor student. I nudged Fred who had in response stepped so close to George that they looked like Siamese twins and Snape, noticing the movement, took points from them for having "Obnoxiously bright orange hair that clashes horribly with their gangly height, freckles and House colors." I'd gotten backed into a wall when he had chosen to storm past us as Fred and George kept me concealed.

"What's got his knickers in a twist?" Fred had asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Surely it wasn't our sweet Kailey," George had feigned a look of shock.

"By George! To even suggest such a thing!"

"I know, 'tis unbelievably,"

"Horrendously,"

"Indisputably,"

"The strangest,"

"Oddest,"

"Most unlikely,"

"Thing to ever take place!"

"I got into a fight with Malfoy, got a hold of his wand and used it along with my own to blast a crater into the ground after Care of Magical Creatures," I had explained, while Hermione had rolled her eyes at their antics and Harry had fended off a Creevy boy and a piece of parchment.

The twins had stared for a moment before laughing aloud, telling me I should've done it sooner.

"We can't cut class, your dad would be furious!" Hermione replied, bringing me back to the present, which currently consisted of dungeon halls and a cold, stagnant air.

"He's always furious," I muttered in retort without any real energy. Skipping anything but Divination was just short of illegal in Hermione's book after all. "But I really don't want to see him yet,"

"I'd wager he doesn't want to see you either, Snape,"

I looked up with a glare at Malfoy, realizing we had ended up right outside the Potions room with the rest of the class. I noticed the badges on their cloaks and rolled my eyes, turning to face Hermione and Harry.

"What? No explosive threats this time?"

"Malfoy, you truly are one of a kind," I replied sarcastically, mentally counting in my head. It wouldn't do to attack him outside a potions room, Merlin knows what goes on during upper year classes.

"Being pure-blood isn't nearly as rare as being what you are is," he replied, standing just slightly behind Crabbe and Goyle.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Harry growled, taking a hold of my wand arm and moving to stand in front of me.

"And what'll you do if I don't, Potter? Go crying to your godmother?"

"You had just better hope it's my godmother that I'd tell," Harry threatened. "You're dad could probably tell you better than I can how fast my godfather is with a wand,"

Malfoy's face twisted in anger and his wand was out and pointing at Harry at the same second Harry's was pointed at him. "What's this, Potter? Are you going to fight for yourself this time or let your stupid girlfriend fight for you again?"

I let Harry shove me behind him as he shouted out "_Furnunculus_!" a blast of white light shooting at Malfoy's red beam of "_Densaugeo_!" The jets of light bounded off one another and Harry and I both ducked in time for Malfoy's curse to hit Hermione full in the face.

"Hermione!" Ron cried, rushing forward with the other Gryffindors as the Slytherins huddled around Goyle. She had her hands covering her mouth as I tried to pry them away. "Stop, Kailey, you've done enough," Ron growled. I froze and turned to stare at him, though he wasn't looking at me.

I dropped my hands and let Ron pry hers away, revealing her rapidly growing teeth. I took out my wand and looked at her. "I'm going to make them stop growing, alright?"

She nodded frantically as her teeth began reaching her chin.

"_Impedimenta_," I muttered and her teeth halted all movement just at her chin. She immediately covered them up, looking terrified. "Don't worry, Pomfrey will have you patched up in no time," I whispered with a slight grin. She tilted her head, but looked less frightened.

"What is going on down here?"

The Slytherins and Gryffindors immediately began shouting their respective sides of the story to the point that no one could understand anything. Snape ended up calling for silence, which immediately fell upon the group, everyone remembering yesterday's episode.

"Mr. Malfoy, explain," he snapped, his back facing me and the others.

"We were just waiting down here for class to begin, sir, when Potter decided to attack! He hit Goyle, look, sir!" he said, his voice whining as he gestured to his bulking thug. Goyle's face was covered in gray-green boils that made it appear as though he were covered in lichen.

Snape peered at his student's disfigured face before nodding his head and saying, "Hospital wing, Goyle," The hulking Slytherin meandered off towards the stairs, Crabbe leading him along the way in case the spreading fungus covered his vision.

"Sir that is not what happened," Harry said when I failed to move. Snape stiffened, but turned to face Harry all the same. "Malfoy and I were having an argument and we attacked each other at the same time, look at Hermione," he said as Ron dragged her forward, forcing her to reveal her teeth.

The Slytherin girls laughed loudly and I glared at Pansy Parkinson, who should consider herself extremely lucky that my wand was safely in my pocket. Snape sneered at Hermione for a moment, seeming to consider before he glanced at me. My glare faded and was quickly replaced by a pleading expression for Hermione's sake. He inclined his head. "To the hospital wing then, Ms. Granger, Ms. Macauley will escort you,"

She nodded gratefully and I blew out the breathe I realized I had been holding only to find my breath hitching when I realized what he had called me. I quickly gulped in a deep breath of air and grabbed Hermione's arm, tugging her away with me so that my emotions wouldn't betray me. I didn't really notice the yelling behind us which seemed faint behind the thudding in my ears.

Hermione gave a gentle tug on my arm and I looked back at her, my vision growing fuzzy, to see her giving me a look of pity. That only made the tears spill over.

We finally made it to the Hospital Wing to find Crabbe exiting and Goyle lying down in a bed as Pomfrey drew the curtains. I led Hermione over to the bed next to the one I usually claimed and she sat down, not bothering to say anything as she pulled me into a hug.

"And what do we have here?" Madame Pomfrey asked and I pulled out of Hermione's grip, wiping the tears from my face. "Ms. Snape, would you please explain,"

I took a shaky breath before beginning. "Hermione got hit in the crossfire, just like Goyle. She needs you to shrink her teeth back down to a normal size,"

"Alright then, let's have a look," Pomfrey smiled choosing to ignore my tears for the moment, summoning a small mirror from her office. "Just tell me when they're normal again,"

Hermione nodded, a weak grin displaying itself as her teeth began to shrink. Moments later they were back to normal, though she allowed Pomfrey to carry on an extra half second, making her teeth average sized. She grinned widely in the mirror before her face fell as she looked up at me and I sighed.

"Kailey, I'm sure he didn't—"

"The hell he didn't," I muttered earning myself a raised eyebrow from Pomfrey as she took the mirror from Hermione before heading to her office to put it away. "You saw how angry he was the other day," I added. "He was just glad to get me out of his non-shampooed hair for another week,"

"Ms. Snape," Pomfrey called from her office.

"Great," I grumbled rolling my eyes. "Now I'm in trouble,"

"Ms. Snape you're needed by the headmaster at once,"

I felt my eyes grow wide at that. "For stating the fact that my dad seems unable to grasp the concept of shampoo?" I asked her when she came back into view.

"Whatever are you talking about?" she asked, though her hands were suddenly placed at her hips.

"Nothing," I squeaked before gulping to clear my throat. "What does the headmaster want?"

"I expect he'll let you know when you arrive," she replied briskly. "Ms. Granger, where is it you think you are going?" she added when Hermione stood up.

"That's my cue," I grinned, nearly sprinting for the door.

Turns out Dumbledore was coming out of his office when I arrived. I was about to ask when I noticed he was being followed by Mr. Ollivander. I felt my wand in my pocket a bit nervously only too well aware that the last time I had cleaned it was the day before we had returned to Hogwarts.

"Ms. Snape," I did my best not to flinch as Dumbledore called out my name. "I see Madame Pomfrey let you out of the Hospital Wing without much fuss,"

I laughed a little. "I was only an escort, sir," I grinned.

He raised an eyebrow. "Should I bother to ask?"

"Malfoy and Harry, sir," I answered. "Though neither was hurt, actually they both missed and hit Goyle and Hermione instead," I shrugged.

"I trust there was no excess of violent power this time?"

I blushed and looked at my feet. "No sir,"

"Ah, so you're the one Albus was telling me about," Mr. Ollivander smiled, his smokey gray eyes smoldering. "So you managed to harness the power of two wands simultaneously with no backlash on your part? Impressive…though it's hardly surprising you do have a unicorn hair inside of that eight and a half inch maple. Yes, unicorn hair is quite powerful indeed when used by the right witch. Wizards have a much harder time using that amount of power with unicorn hair,"

"Um…thank you, sir," I muttered, not sure if it was a compliment but he nodded all the same.

Neither one said much more until we reached the classroom where everyone but Harry and Rita Skeeter where waiting for us. I could barely stop myself from rolling my eyes as Dumbledore looked at me questioningly.

"You may just want to break her quill now, damn thing thinks the same way she does," I suggested, heading for the closet.

I opened the door to find Harry squishing himself as far from Skeeter as possible while she leaned towards him on an upturned bucket. I folded my arms and raised an eyebrow at the two of them while Dumbledore chuckled from behind me, though he quickly turned it into a cough.

"You gonna join us sometime in the near future, Harry?" I asked, completely ignoring the blonde witch in front of me. He scrambled out of the closet as quickly as he could, taking care not to touch the reporter or her quill. Without thinking about it, I shut the door behind him and turned to face everyone else and smirked at the relief that was obvious on everyone's face, including the photographer. "So, what happens now?"

Dumbledore chuckled as he led us back into the room and took his place at the center of the velvet covered judging table while Harry and I sat down beside Cedric and the other champions. Moments later, a flustered Rita Skeeter came back into the room, huffing and her quill zooming as she watched the proceedings, the photographer polishing his lens.

Ollivander inspected the wands carefully, commending Cedric for taking such good care of his wand at one point. I noticed Harry fidgeting after that was said and glanced down to see him rubbing his wand in his robes vigorously. I tried to contain a grin at this and grabbed his hand to make him stop. He froze and let me pull his hand out of the knot of robes and away from his wand as I leaned closer to whisper "its fine," in his ear. I looked up at him and noticed he was smiling a bit. He didn't let go of my hand until it was his turn to go.

Dumbledore attempted to release us as soon as Ollivander had finished but Rita Skeeter (mental eye roll) leapt forward crying "Pictures, everybody, pictures!"

It took us quite some time before anybody was willing to suggest that maybe Madame Maxime should sit down for the photograph, in fact she had to suggest it herself. Krum wedged himself in the back corner of the picture; Karkaroff was constantly trying to pull him further into the spotlight. Cedric stood opposite from Krum, beside Dumbledore, though he wasn't constantly trying to get out of the camera's line of sight. I ended up standing just barely to the left of Dumbledore and to the right of Madame Maxime and all of us watched as Fleur and Harry kept switching places. Finally, Harry stood next to me and diagonal from Cedric while Fleur stood diagonal from Krum and next to her headmistress.

I laughed to myself thinking of how our positions wouldn't end up mattering in the pictures, we'd all move to wherever we wanted to be. I had a sneaking suspicion that the picture of Karkaroff would be chasing the picture of Krum for quite some time.

"Alright, let's do some individual shots," the photographer sighed, clearly not wanting to take anymore pictures at this point. "Ms. Delacour, let's have you first," he added before Skeeter could call out Harry's name. First he had her sit, and then he had her stand. At some point she ended up leaning against the wall next to the window because the light was 'phenomenally better when it was completely natural'.

Krum refused to do anything but stand with his arms crossed but that seemed to work for the photographer who appeared to have an image in mind that included Krum's moodiness. Cedric, Harry and I all went together for a few shots with me feeling obnoxiously short in the middle before Cedric took a turn followed by Harry. Cedric went by himself next followed by me. I ended up in a curiously similar position as Fleur had though when I realized this I rolled my eyes and brought a hand to my hip, leaving my other arm on the windowsill, only to blink in surprise as another round of flashes went off. Harry went last and I was getting anxious to leave before my stomach started grumbling. Finally the photographer announced he was finished. There was a collective sigh amongst the teenagers in the room.

"Wait, wait," Rita cried again, coming forward. "Shouldn't you get a few of Harry and Ms…Snap together?"

"Snape," I corrected, using the tone of voice my dad was best known for around the school. She didn't even flinch.

"Yes, yes, Snape," she said distractedly. "They are competing as one, are they not?" she added looking at the annoyed judges. Dumbledore nodded and she clapped her hands. "Lovely,"

This time I couldn't stop from rolling my eyes.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Oh for the love of Merlin," Sirius grumbled at the _Daily Prophet_ when it arrived Saturday morning. I gave a great sigh and shook my head. "She's really gone off it this time," he warned me. "I swear, I'm going to go and tear that damned quill to bits,"

"Do I even want to know?" I asked rubbing my neck as I glanced up at Harry, Hermione and Kailey at the Gryffindor table. They were leaning over their own copy of the _Prophet_. Hermione looked shocked, Harry looked mortified and Kailey looked…well, she looked like she could blast another crater into the ground. Or into the floor of the Great Hall.

"It's all a load of dragon dung. Oh, look here, it says:

'Despite having his godparents back, young Harry admits to the deep emotional scars that the three of them still face. 'What with my aunt's constant struggle to stay sober and Sirius' struggle to remain sane, we all still feel the constant pain over the loss of my parents…I often cry at night about them.' This reporter, however, happily discovers that our young hero has found love to comfort him in the form of Kailey Snape, daughter of the Hogwarts Potions Master. Ms. Snape, one source says, is always with Harry. There are rumors saying that the two of them shared a bedroom over the summer holidays. Perhaps this sheds some light over the double entry between the two young lovers, one can only hope that Ms. Snape does not follow in the footsteps of her parents, her father an 'ex'-Death Eater and her mother a prostitute…'

Blimey, that explains the look on her face," Sirius interrupted himself, looking up at the table. I pulled the paper closer to me and shook it out to get a better look at the rest of it.

There was a miniscule piece on the tournament (the date of the first task was incorrect) with a picture of the judges and champions taking up most of the space. Above the article about Harry were two large pictures. One of Kailey leaning against a window and rolling her eyes before smirking and the other of Harry who was standing on the other side of the same window, flattening his bangs every couple of seconds.

Suddenly there was a loud bang at the other end of the table. While Sirius leaned forward to look, I leaned back to see Snape coming towards us, his own _Prophet_ lay on top of his breakfast.

"Severus, don't make a scene," I said, shaking my head. "You know what she writes is garbage,"

"Did you read the part about the bedroom?" he hissed. The hall had quieted considerably, but I doubted anyone could hear him at this point.

"Yes, and it should be fairly obvious that that part is completely untrue, as is the part about her mother and my being a struggling alcoholic."

"And my insanity," Sirius added.

We both turned to him and gave him a doubtful look.

"Mickey!" he whined, turning to McGonagall who had unwisely chosen that moment to sit down next to him. "They're making fun of me, Mickey!"

"So help me, Sirius Black, if you call me 'Mickey' one more time I will turn you into a giant fly and feed you to Longbottom's toad!" she shouted.

The hall laughed and McGonagall turned to the students, not having realized she was being listened to, though the chatter picked up again after her outburst.

"Mickey," Sirius muttered.

The hall laughed loudly at the sight of the one and only Auror Black sprinting from the hall, a silver shield covering his back as McGonagall raced after him, brandishing her wand. No one had known that Minerva McGonagall could run like that when she wanted to.

I finished my breakfast before either of them returned and made my way out of the hall, nodding to the twins as I went when they waved at me. I headed for my office, planning on preparing an answer sheet to a practice test I had made for some Ravenclaw seventh years who were concerned about their NEWTs. Sometimes I felt like there should be a spare tutor just for the Ravenclaws alone.

I was halfway finished making up the answer sheet when there was a knock on my door. I put my quill and ink down and looked at the door. "Come in," I called.

The door opened revealing the seventh year girl who had glared at me after the opening feast. I blinked before smiling.

"What can I do for you Ms…?"

"My name is Alana Collins," she said, extending her hand for me to shake. "I'm a seventh year Hufflepuff. My aunt is Cindy Collins," she added. I frowned. The name sounded so familiar…

"Did I know your aunt?" I asked, gesturing for her to sit.

"Yes, she would just like me to tell you that it's your entire fault." She stated. I raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Collins, but I'm afraid that I don't understand what you mean. Nor do I remember ever meeting a Cindy Collins," I replied, refraining from laughing at the girl sent to do her aunt's dirty work.

She nodded. "She said you would say that. She also said to remind you that you stole Auror Black from her. She never did get married,"

Now I couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Ms. Collins, you've been misinformed. Auror Black and I have been dating since we were fourteen years old. Now, if you need any help with school work I will gladly oblige, but if not, I do have work to get done,"

She stood up and glared. "She said you would say that as well. Don't say I didn't warn you,"

Without another word she swept out of the office leaving me to stare after her, mildly amused. Then I noticed the letter she had left on the seat. I frowned and ran a few cautionary tests over it to make sure it wasn't hexed or contained any toxic chemicals. Or bubotuber pus. I sat with the envelope in my hands for a moment, deliberating over whether or not I wanted to bother before shrugging. I ripped open the envelope and took out a solitary photograph.

I frowned.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Is she still mad at him?" Hermione asked Harry as Keena took her seat between Snape and Flitwick for the third time in three days.

Harry nodded. "I don't know why though, neither of them will tell me. I can't even get them into the same room!"

"Weird…wonder what's gotten into them," I muttered glancing over to the Ravenclaw table for the fifth time in five minutes. I blushed again when I noticed Leon was still staring at me, though this time he'd caught me looking back and winked. Harry turned around to see who I was looking at and turned back with a slight scowl on his face.

"D'you suppose they've had a row over their _engagement_?" Hermione whispered the last word.

"What makes you say that?" Harry asked, glancing at the teacher's table.

"Look at her left hand," Hermione instructed.

I did so. It was glaringly empty.

"Oh, Merlin, she took off the ring," I murmured. Harry looked between the two of us, looking as though he were about to start panicking. "This must be serious,"

Harry snorted and Hermione rolled her eyes while I giggled. Who knew those puns could be so fun? And they really did lighten the mood...

"Talking about your godparents, Harry?" Lavender muttered, leaning into the conversation with Parvati. We nodded collectively. "Yeah, we've noticed it too,"

"Do you know what's gotten her to take the ring off, Harry?" Parvati asked.

He shook his head. "I didn't even notice until just now," he admitted.

"Well, don't tell anyone we told you, but we heard some Hufflepuff upper years talking the other day," Lavender informed us and Hermione and I leaned closer to get the gossip. Harry didn't look too sure but he leaned in as well. _Perhaps I should force Ron to make up with him…or at least have Harry make some more guy friends…_ "Alana Collins was talking about her aunt and how she'd given her a letter to give to Professor Potter last Saturday. Then she mentioned about how maybe her Aunty Cindy would finally get married to Auror Black."

"It was really strange," Parvati added. "We thought about telling Professor Potter, but it was too late," she glanced back up at the staff table along with the rest of us. "But maybe you could tell Auror Black, Harry, in case he doesn't know,"

Harry nodded absent-mindedly. I reached out and grabbed his hand. He looked up at me, both of us ignoring Lavender's tiny giggle at the action. "You could always owl the information to Remus instead; maybe have him visit Hogsmeade on Saturday?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," he grinned, understanding my meaning immediately. With that, the five of us returned to our dinner.

That Friday night, Hermione, Harry and I commandeered the couches by the fireplace to do our homework. Harry was working on summoning bits of parchment to himself and had succeeded once or twice, earning himself a glare or two from Hermione seeing as it caused smudges of ink as she wrote her essays. I was busying myself with transfiguration homework, having already finished all the practical work in class, the only one to do so, aside from Hermione of course.

"Harry!" Hermione cried as her quill was suddenly summoned out of her hand. He gave her a guilty grin and she rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm glad you're doing so well with this, but I really need to finish this! It's due soon,"

I snorted. "Soon as in this week soon or soon as in post-dance-with-death-with-a-dish-of-humiliation-to-follow-match,"

Harry looked up. "That's a new one," he commented.

"Gotta keep 'em fresh or they get as bad as Sirius-serious puns," I grinned.

"It's ridiculous," Hermione muttered. "You can't be humiliated post-mortem," she added when Harry and I looked at her curiously.

"How would you know?" I challenged.

"You just can't!"

"Says you, who has clearly never been dead before,"

"Kailey!"

"Hermione,"

"Ugh…never mind, I'll just go up to the dorm and finish this if you insist on being childish," she grumbled, collecting her things and swiping her quill out of Harry's hand.

I couldn't help but giggle as she made her way up to the dorm. Harry rolled his eyes at me. "You know, if you just told me what we were facing on Tuesday you could make up even more ridiculous names,"

I sighed. "I need to wait and make sure I tell you and Cedric both,"

Harry shrugged. "Fine, let's go get him and we can go to the Room of Requirement,"

"I just figured we tell him at Hogsmeade," I suggested.

"Oh," his face fell and I frowned.

"You weren't planning on helping to play match-maker on Saturday, were you?" I asked, the corners of my lips twitching. He grinned. Remus had replied to Harry's letter telling him not to worry and that he would be using his 'special forces' to get Keena to pull herself together and to get Sirius to fix whatever it was that he had done. Apparently no one but Keena knew what had actually happened.

"Maybe," he admitted. "But I also just wanted to…see them,"

"I'm sure you'll be able to do both, Harry," I grinned. "Though, I wouldn't mess with the match-making stuff too much, you might turn a strange color,"

He laughed again before sobering up, rather quickly I must confess. "Kailey…"

"Hm?" I asked, correcting something in my transfiguration essay.

"Who is he?"

"Who is who?" I asked, siphoning off the smudged ink to re-word a sentence.

"That boy," he elaborated. "The one you keep watching every time we have a meal," he added when I didn't look up right away.

I frowned and looked up at him. I almost smiled. He looked so serious, as if we were talking about something like a detention with Dumbledore himself. "The one from Beauxbatons?" I asked for clarification. He nodded. "Oh, that's Leon Lapierre. We've talked a few times…why?"

"I don't think you should talk to him," he stated, crossing his arms.

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Good thing it's not up to you then, isn't it?"

"I mean it, Kailey, I don't think it's a good idea," he frowned when I didn't take his advice to heart. "He's too…old. And he's French!"

"Yes, Harry, and you're English and I'm American. Glad to see you can recognize nationalities," I teased.

"Kailey," he groaned, leaning closer over the table.

"Harry," I paused before grinning wickedly. "You're not…" I stopped and looked away blushing horribly two words flashing in my head: Cho Chang.

"Not what?" he muttered.

I didn't reply and he sighed, collecting his parchment and heading up to his dorm after bidding me goodnight.

_Jealous_.

**That's the end of this one! I know this one took me awhile to get to but I'm hoping that I'll get moving a little faster now that the school year is closing out! Oh, and ****live2luv****, she blew up the ground cuz she's angry that she's cursed and because Malfoy's a pain in the neck. Okay, next is number 15! **

**:-D**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen: Intervention…maybe.

**Disclaimed. Again. **

**Much love to my readers! Enjoy it!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

I hadn't made him sleep on the couch for the past week; he'd chosen to do that on his own. It wasn't as though I'd thrown my ring back at him. On the contrary, I wasn't even certain that he knew I'd taken it off. My hand felt too light without it, but every time I opened the drawer of the bedside table to retrieve my ring as a sign of forgiveness, my hand would brush against the old photograph. It didn't help that the figures in it moved.

Maybe I was being stupid or selfish or too sensitive. But there was a tiny voice in my head that seemed to grow louder every day suggesting that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't.

I felt bad for Harry's sake, though. He'd walked in on us, me glaring at Sirius with tears running down my face and Sirius pleading with me, confused. I sighed. Maybe I really was being too harsh. My hand bumped the picture again. I clenched my eyes shut.

There was a knock on the door.

"Keena," a soft voice called.

Uh oh. The headmaster.

I stood and walked over to the door, opening it to see Dumbledore looking at me with a pleasant smile. "Have you forgotten?"

"Apparently I have, sir, seeing as I don't have a clue what you're talking about," I replied, rubbing my eyes furiously.

"Then I shall remind you," he replied pleasantly, choosing to ignore my reddened face. "It is a Hogsmeade day,"

I stared at him blankly for a moment before I remembered. "Damn," I muttered, summoning a cloak from my closet. "Sorry, sir, I did forget,"

"Would you like me to find a substitute?" he asked gently, peering in and noticing the tissues that had flooded out of the wastebasket.

"No, no, I said I would go to all of them and I will," I said, shrugging my cloak on. I clasped my hands together, noting the absence of my ring again.

"Keena, would you mind very much if I asked what was wrong?"

I gave a shaky laugh. "Sir, you always know everything. Why would you need to ask?"

He looked at me doubtfully for a moment. "Keena," he began gently. "He's got no clue what to do with himself,"

"It's been a week,"

"And he honestly does not know what he did," he finished as though I hadn't interrupted. I sighed. "At least tell me so that I know how soon I should get the new quarters ready."

I blinked before shaking my head. "Sir, I…I don't know if you would understand…"

"Who would then, Keena?" I jumped and Dumbledore turned in slight surprise to find Sirius leaning on the back of the couch with his arms crossed scowling. "I forgot my cloak," he muttered, and I moved aside as he strode in past me. As he walked by me I noticed that I had left the drawer open. In a slight panic, I shut it with a snap with my wand and he jumped.

We stared at one another for a moment and I couldn't help but feel regret as he glared at me. I turned to leave but bumped into the headmaster instead. "Sorry, sir," I muttered before racing out of the room and towards the grounds, making my way towards the village.

It was chilly, but not unbearable, though I slid into a booth at the Three Broomsticks in any case. I sat for a moment, tapping my fingers on the table observing the students milling around, some floating from table to table, and flirting. I sighed heavily, still arguing with the indecision. The sensitive voice wasn't so strong away from my ring or my…the picture.

"Keena! How are you?" Madame Rosmerta cried as she noticed me, holding a tray full of butterbeers. "Hang on, I'll be right back," she said when I didn't reply immediately. I blinked at her sudden return as she sat across from me. "Oh, dear, whatever is the matter?"

"Is it that obvious?" I muttered, lifting up a spoon to take a look at my reflection. I sighed as I realized how bad I must look considering I could see it in the spoon.

"What's happened, dear? Where's Sirius?" she asked, looking around, clearly expecting him to come racing in to be by my side.

I sighed again, placing the spoon back down on the table and laying out my left hand for her to see. She gasped before leaning forward.

"Oh…oh my…why?"

I shook my head. "I'm not even up to explaining it to him yet, I'll let you know after he finds out," I gave a shaky laugh again.

She looked at me sympathetically and placed a hand over my own. "Would you like a pick-me-up? On the house, of course, you know I've got the right amount of stuff for you," She was talking about the fake alcohol. It was magic and would work for a predetermined amount of time with no side-effects. The moment you needed to be sober, you were.

I shook my head. "No, I'm here as a chaperone," I answered, gesturing with one hand towards the student population crowding the room. "I honestly cannot afford to get fired this year. Not with Harry competing,"

She nodded, standing up. "Well, dear, if you change your mind,"

I nodded as well. "You'll be the first to know,"

Her seat was vacant for about a second before she was replaced by a disgruntled looking Kailey. "I am not happy." She stated and I couldn't help but laugh a bit at her expression. "It isn't funny, Keen—Professor Potter, your nephew is under the impression that he controls my love life. I am _most_ displeased."

"How has he tried to control it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, trying not to laugh at her choice of phrasing. As far as I knew, Harry _was_ her love life. At least, that's what Lily and I had concluded over the summer.

"He wants me to stop talking to a boy I met. He's from Beauxbatons. Harry's been making comments all day about it and it is highly annoying," she grumbled, folding her arms and shrinking down in her seat. "I've only just gotten away," she added, glancing at the door.

"Uh-huh…well, to be honest, I thought you two liked each other," I stated with a shrug.

She blushed and I smirked. "That can't be…he likes…_her_…" she trailed off and glared at the table. "Whatever, I better go before they notice I came to find you," she sighed, standing up.

I shook my head after her and resumed tapping my fingers on the table. I sighed again, debating whether or not I should just give in and sprint for the Hog's Head or if I should wait and see if anything worth my noticing happened.

"Oh, what a lovely surprise! Keena McIntosh!" My fingers froze mid-tapping and I turned slowly to find myself facing Rita Skeeter. _I should have run…_ "Mind if I sit with you?" she asked, sitting down before I could reply.

"Actually, I'd prefer it if you didn't," I stated just as she moved to take off her outer cloak. She froze and stared at me before shrugging it off the rest of the way.

"My dear, but don't you know I've been trying to contact you? Ever since your young ward was made a competitor, actually," she said, turning towards the bar and snapping her fingers. I raised an eyebrow at her but Rosmerta made her way back over. "I'll have a Witch's Brew and Ms. McIntosh will take a Firewhiskey,"

"I beg your pardon, Miss, but I've already spoken to the Professor, she's ordered a butterbeer," Rosmerta replied nodding to me. "I'll be back with those before you can say 'Quidditch'," she added, walking off.

"Hm…I could have sworn you preferred Firewhiskey," Skeeter stated airily.

"I'm afraid I don't," I replied sweetly. I didn't either; Firewhiskey wasn't exactly strong enough for what I had used it for. "And I'm afraid you've got the wrong name. As of this past September, I've been Keena Potter."

"Really?" she asked, her hand twitching towards her bag. "Mightn't we do a tiny interview? Or perhaps you're waiting for Sirius Black…?"

"I'm sorry, I don't partake in interviews. You ought to know that by now," I added, standing up. I nodded to Rosmerta as I headed out and she winked at me before heading to block off Skeeter from following me.

I practically flew out the door, this time crashing into a brunette witch with brown eyes which had widened considerably upon impact before I began falling to the ground. "Jeez, Keena, no need to pass out from excitement," a blonde wizard laughed as I found myself being caught. I twisted around to see my hero as the one and only Remus Lupin.

"Hello, Keena," he smirked before standing me up right. "Running somewhere?"

"Anywhere away from her," I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder to reference Rita.

"Ah, well I trust you remember Johnny and Libby," he said, gesturing to James and Lily with a grin. "We thought we'd come visit our favorite four people," he added.

"Oh, well you've just missed Kailey, she came to complain about Harry trying to 'control her love life'. But I don't know where they've gotten to," I said with a shrug.

"And Sirius?" James asked.

"What about him?" I asked, forcing my breathing to stay even.

"Where is he?" Lily finished, though she was looking at my left hand, frowning.

"Around here somewhere, we've got chaperone duty,"

"So why aren't the two of you together?"

"Divide and concur method,"

"Dragon dung," James rolled his eyes. "You know we know, so let us know,"

"I don't know what you know that I know, so I can't let you know,"

"You know exactly what we don't know because he doesn't know so you obviously know what we need to know so he can know,"

"What?"

"Exactly,"

"Johnny what is it you want to know exactly?" I asked, sighing and rubbing my temples.

"We want to know what Sirius doesn't know," Lily informed me before James could open his mouth again. Thank Merlin for that.

I frowned. "Well, one of you must have known."

"Known what?" Remus groaned.

"About the damn picture. Two people are in it but a third party had to have been holding the camera for them," I glared at the ground._ Maybe it was Wormtail...he's dirty enough, right...?_

I looked back up to see Lily looking confused, Remus was beginning to look as if he understood but James opened his mouth. "Who is in this picture?" his voice was kind of shaking a little.

"Sirius," I replied quietly.

"And…you?" he growled.

I shook my head. James' face was beginning to turn red and Lily gasped as she finally understood what James had from the start. Remus still looked doubtful. "How old is the picture?"

I shrugged. "We were much younger but I'm not sure how old…I suppose around the time I was…with…" my vision was beginning to swim. "Sorry," I whispered, rubbing my eyes with the sleeves of my cloak.

"I'm going to kill him," James muttered.

"Remus! Johnny, Libby!"

I uncovered my face in time to see Harry flying into Lily, hugging her tightly. Kailey and Hermione trailed behind him slightly, both looking at me curiously. I sighed and aimed my wand at my face and muttered a quick cleansing charm to get rid of some of the redness.

"Hi Harry!" Lily cried in reply, hugging him happily. "We've been so worried! Is everything alright? Of course it isn't! But do you know what you're going to do? Is there any way we can help you? No…we can't it isn't allowed…"

"Libby, calm down, we've got it covered," Kailey interrupted. "And you're choking Harry," she added, pointing at her friend's red face.

"Oh, Merlin, I'm sorry," she muttered, letting go.

"It's alright," Harry replied, grinning tightly as he massaged his neck. "Er…Johnny? Are _you_ alright?"

We all looked at James who was still staring at me, his face betraying all of his anger. He took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. "Yes, Harry, I'm fine. Now, tell me what you're doing to prepare," he said, turning all of his attention towards his son.

"Practicing spells and charms mostly. Kailey and I've both perfected the summoning spell now," he added a bit proudly. He had struggled a lot with that one.

James grinned. "That's great to hear," you could hear the 'son' he added mentally if you watched his eyes.

"Thanks," Harry beamed while his eyes screamed 'dad'.

"Are you all coming to the tournament?" Kailey asked, looking from Remus to Lily expectantly. Both smiled slightly and nodded. "Good, it's nice to know we've got people cheering for us who actually know we didn't enter ourselves,"

"Glad to be of service," Remus bowed with a grin. "Perhaps you could return the favor?"

"How so?" she asked guardedly.

"No more defacing school property would be a good start," he replied with a wink. She blushed, making the adults laugh.

"Sorry, but isn't that a bit out of season?" Hermione asked, pointing to a beetle that was climbing along the inside of the door, occasionally flying into it.

"Squish it!" Kailey cried out, bouncing on her toes, clearly happy about the distraction. "Quick, quick, get it!"

"It's just a beetle," Lily laughed.

"That's what it _wants_ you to think," Kailey whispered conspiratorially.

We all laughed again.

"Fine, don't believe me," she mumbled, glancing over her shoulder. "Hey Sirius," she waved. He looked up and spotted us all and waved. Our eyes met and I frowned, forcing myself to look away. Apparently not looking at James had been a mistake seeing as the next thing I heard was a shout of "Johnny, no!"

I turned back to see Remus wrestling James back towards the building, forcing his wand from his hand and tossing it to me, another mistake because I just threw it at Lily and moved forward to help keep James back. He stopped struggling after half a moment as Sirius put himself between Harry and James.

"I'm going to assume you told Johnny whatever it is that's upsetting you then," Sirius growled, twirling his wand around in his off hand. "Nice of you, Keena, very attractive."

"About as attractive as you come off talking like that in front of Harry, Sirius," I replied angrily.

He stopped twirling his wand and glared at me. "Leave Harry out of this, Keena,"

"Good idea," I answered. "Why don't you three take Libby somewhere? She hasn't been to Hogsmeade in a while," Lily ushered the kids away and Sirius came closer while James became more composed.

"Will one of you please tell me what the hell is going on?" Sirius requested, his anger flashing to pure need for a brief second.

"How many?" I snapped.

"What?" he asked, taken aback.

"How many others were there, Sirius? Or should I still be using present tense here?"

"Merlin, Keena, I've got no bloody idea what you're talking about!"

"Other women, Sirius, she's talking about other women," James growled, tugging against Remus and me for a second.

"Keena, I've only ever dated you," he replied, his glare slipping into a frown. "I swear on my mother's…on Mrs. P's grave! I would never betray you like that,"

The sensitive voice screamed out against that in rage in my head.

"Are you calling my sister a liar?" James breathed, seething with rage.

"No, Johnny,"

"Then what, Sirius? It can't be both ways," Remus countered, flexing his fingers around James' arm probably so he wouldn't attack Sirius himself.

"Keena, please, just talk to me. Just me. I can't stand this," he begged.

"And neither can I," I answered, my voice wavering. "But I can't ignore this, Sirius, I waited for you for too long to have this happen to me," Now I was the one gripping James for support.

"Ignore, what? Keena, who told you this anyway?"

I took a deep breath to tell him when I caught sight of Harry sprinting towards us. "Harry?" Sirius turned around and threw his wand into his good hand as James cursed. Lily still had his wand.

"Moody is coming," Harry panted. "Libby already left, she told me to warn you, Johnny. She wants Remus to stay longer,"

Remus and I released James immediately and he disapparated on the spot so quickly that the usual tell-tale crack didn't even sound. "The girls?" I asked, worried about Mad-Eye.

"They're fine; Hagrid is with him anyway,"

"We'll talk later," Sirius muttered, though he didn't leave. "Let's all go in for a drink," he gestured towards the door before opening it and we filed in.

We sat in the booth I had been in earlier, Sirius sliding in next to me and Remus across from me while Harry sat at a table not too far from us as Kailey and Hermione finally caught up and joined him.

"Rosmerta!" I called. She came straight over, an empty tray in her hands. "If you could keep an eye on anyone who talks to Harry?"

"Of course, it's not a problem dear. And I'll actually get you your butterbeer this time," she added with a wink.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"I don't know why, but every time I follow Hagrid's advice I feel a little…oh, I dunno, naïve," I grumbled to Harry underneath the Invisibility Cloak as we followed Hagrid and Madame Maxime through the forest. He and Mad-Eye's imposter had come over to our table and told us to meet him at the cabin. Harry and I had traded disgusted faces at the smell of Hagrid's cologne and outfit choice the moment we had had a chance to.

"You said this was important," Harry muttered back.

"It is, I guess, except I already know what we're seeing,"

"Then why did you say we had to come?"

"Just so I know exactly how humongous these are going to be," I murmured as a sudden roar ripped through the forest. "Oh, I guess we're there," I added as we rounded the corner to come face to face with a giant paddock.

"The wooden fence seems a little ridiculous," I observed as we watched one of the dragons spew flames from her mouth that singed the grass fifty yards from where we stood.

"Those…are dragons…" Harry choked out.

"Yep,"

"Fully grown…dragons…"

"Yeah,"

"They breathe…they breathe fire, Kailey,"

"Yes, Harry, yes they do,"

We watched as all of the keepers focused on the gigantic black dragon, casting stunning beams all at once. We watched her fall to the ground and felt the small earthquake she caused.

"We are going to die and then be humiliated in front of the entire school," he stated with wide eyes.

"Don't be so melodramatic, we aren't going to die," I whispered back, elbowing him in the arm. "And you mastered the summoning charm so, in theory, you won't be humiliated," I added confidently.

"What bloody good is a summoning charm?" he whisper yelled at me, as we walked closer, following in Hagrid's wake.

"Look, you'll have your wand, right? So all you need to do is summon whatever it is you'll need," I answered. "Calm down. Oh, and we still need to tell Cedric,"

"Alright Hagrid?" we looked over to see Charlie Weasley heading towards Hagrid. Madame Maxime had started walking around the enclosure on her own as soon as Charlie waved.

"Doin' well, Charlie, an' yerself?"

"Fine, though I don't know how long that'll last once mum finds out about this…she's going mad, Hagrid, she goes on and on about Harry and Kailey," he paused and began imitating Mrs. Weasley's voice by forcing his up two octaves and I had to resist the urge to break out into hysterics. "_What do you mean they're competing? I thought it was supposed to be safer with an Auror at the school! What kind of school is Albus running?_" he paused again and cleared his throat. "How are they doing by the way? Ron wouldn't tell us anything then the twins told us they were fighting and when Ginny was owled she replied with a two foot letter about her History of Magic class. Mum couldn't even complain about that one since not even Bill got top marks in that class,"

"They're alrigh', they've got Keena an' Sirius lookin' out fer 'em," Hagrid answered, gazing at the dragons longingly. "Wha' breeds yeh got, there, Charlie?"

Harry and I glanced at one another and rolled our eyes. "C'mon, anything else he says is useless information to us," I muttered, tugging his arm and we began heading back towards the castle.

"So…dragons, eh?"

I looked sideways at Harry and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just saying, you could have warned me," he shrugged, though he didn't look truly angry. Yet.

"You would've been too stressed out to be able to get that charm down if I had told you before hand," I replied easily. "The only reason we went with Hagrid was to avoid the shock of seeing those beasts on game day,"

"I dunno, I thought they'd be bigger," he answered with a shrug.

"They'll seem bigger when we're trying to get past them," I replied, nearly walking out from under the cloak before I registered the fact that Harry had stopped walking. "What did I say?"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"You're okay with turning my best mate against me but you won't do me the courtesy of telling me why?" Sirius growled as he paced back and forth in the living room. I was leaning against the bedroom door, trying to decide if I should just throw the picture at him or scream the name 'Cindy Collins' in his face. Both seemed like good options.

"Sirius, you do realize that when you tell me you don't know who I'm talking about it makes me wonder who else there could possibly be, right?" I snapped back.

"Merlin, Keena! Just tell me what happened!" he yelled.

"That's the problem, Sirius! I don't know exactly what happened!" I screamed back. "All I have is one picture, Sirius, one! And you're all over her!" I slammed the door open and cried out "_Accio_!" the drawer shot open and the picture came flying into my hand. "Remus asked me when the picture was from this afternoon and I hadn't thought to look, but I did when we got back. Do you remember now, Sirius?" I banished the picture into his hand and he caught it.

He stared at it for a full minute before crumpling it in his fist, his face dropping into his free hand. This wasn't the reaction he was supposed to have. He was supposed to yell and rage about forgery, about how this wasn't him. He wasn't supposed to act defeated.

"Oh, Merlin, Sirius, tell me this isn't _real_!"

He didn't look up.

"You told me you were on a mission, Sirius; that you were on Dumbledore's orders!"

"I was," he answered in a whisper.

"Then what the hell is that?" I yelled back.

"It meant nothing!" he shot back.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" my voice was beginning to break. I wanted nothing more than to run straight into his arms and just cry.

"We had just lost her! How was I supposed to tell you any of this? I needed a distraction from all of it, the war, and the dementors, all of it!" his shout stung my entire body.

My ears heard words he wasn't saying. "You needed a distraction from me?"

"No! That's not what I…no, Keena, no…" he started to walk towards me, but I shook my head. "Keena, please,"

I turned around and slammed the door shut behind me, locking it loudly with the manual locks just so he would know not to come in. I sunk to the floor and all I could see in my head was his face.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Something tells me that the intervention didn't work," I said at breakfast the next morning. They were sitting at opposite ends of the table. Literally.

"I guess our plan backfired," Harry muttered, stabbing his sausage with unnecessary zeal. "Maybe we should try something else,"

"I think as long as we don't die on Tuesday they'll be satisfied," I answered.

"That isn't funny, Kailey," Hermione mumbled. She had flipped out when I revealed to her what the task was going to be. "All the things you could have practiced and you make him study a summoning charm," she grumbled.

"Yeah, to summon things with," I answered carefully. "Since all we get is a wand,"

She paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. I grinned. "Caught on, yet?"

"That…is just brilliant!" she half shouted before turning red as half the hall turned to look over in our general direction.

"Yeah, well, if you'll excuse me for a moment," I said, catching sight of Cedric leaving the hall with his nose glued to a book. I sprinted after him as he reached the set of stairs that led towards the kitchens. "Cedric!" I called and he paused and looked up.

"Yeah?" he asked once I was standing next to him. "Have you and Harry got a general plan?"

"It's in the more general stage than the actual plan stage, I'd say, but that's not what I'm here for," I said, pausing to look around us. "The first task is dragons, Cedric. We think we need to get past them for something,"

He frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Dead—I mean, positive. We saw them last night, all four of them. Madame Maxime and Karkaroff will have told Fleur and Krum by now as well, so don't go all Hufflepuff on me," I grinned, teasing.

He grinned in reply. "All is fair in love and war," he answered.

**I'm not going to lie, I've wanted Cedric to say that for a very long time now…Okay, so next chapter will be the First Task (wow, shocker) and it will (hopefully) knock some sense back into the godparents, reminding them that Harry is the priority, not their insane love life…That's all I got for this one! Next is 16! Review?**

**:-D**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: Dragons and Fliers and Eggs, Oh My!

**Not the owner of Harry Potter OR the Wizard of Oz. **

**Yes, I do enjoy this chapter's title but that's not why we're here! Onward, march!**

_Kailey's Point of View:_

"I will not fall, I will not fall, I will not fall…"

The mantra I was currently chanting to myself was not helping my flying skills or Harry's patience, but it was helping my brain. We were in the Room of Requirement, which was currently a field that was shaped to look exactly like the giant arena we would be in on Tuesday. Harry was zooming around on his Firebolt, trying to get me to go faster and higher. After all, what kind of distraction would I be if I flew at one mile per hour seven feet off the ground?

"Kailey, you're making this much harder than it needs to be," he called from high above.

"I disagree!"

"You were fine over the summer!"

"Dragons were not in the equation over the summer," I shot back, sticking my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and flew back down to my level.

"Look, you're either going to learn this now and not fall off your broom on Tuesday or you'll do it purely on adrenaline on Tuesday and risk getting burnt to a crisp _before_ you hit the ground,"

I blinked at him before glaring. "Nice pep talk Harry, better work on that or they won't make you Quidditch Captain,"

He rolled his eyes again before shooting back up into the air, this time me following at a much more acceptable speed. My Firebolt wasn't real, but I wouldn't have to summon it, either. After looking over all my Transfiguration notes I realized I could just transfigure a rock or something into a Firebolt. So, while Harry had practiced his summoning, I had practiced the theory of changing a rock into a broom. I had only succeeded once or twice, but the 'broom' I was currently riding was working out just fine. It also kept us unique which was sure to impress some of the judges. By some I meant Dumbledore and Bagman. I was sure all of the other judges still held grudges over the extra entries Hogwarts had been given.

Harry stopped suddenly and I nearly flew into him, managing to swerve at the last second. He completely ignored the near accident. "Do you know what we should do?"

"Warn one another before we slam into each other and die?"

He ignored that too. "We should get something in here to practice with,"

As he spoke a rather sinister looking shadow began rising behind him.

"Um…Harry?"

"No, I mean it, something big…with wings,"

Suddenly its wings sprouted, stretching across to be the length of the Horntail we had seen.

"Harry, I don't think—"

"With talons and claws…maybe a spike tail,"

"Harry, seriously, turn around—"

"Would we be overdoing it if we made it breath fire?"

"GET DOWN!"

I grabbed the front of his broom and aimed it down along with mine and we both went spiraling towards the earth, just barely missing the tunnel of fire that had just come shooting out of the false dragon's mouth. I let go of his broom and managed to pull myself out of the dive just before I hit the ground while Harry decided to just coast along right above the grass. I turned back to see where the dragon had gone only to find it had disappeared.

"Maybe that was a bit much..." Harry suggested, causing me to jump as I realized he was right next to me.

"You think?" I glared.

He just shrugged. "You had great reaction time, though,"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"It's better than nothing!"

"The last thing I need is for you to not pay attention on Tuesday, Harry," I warned. "I mean it, if I have to save your neck because you were being stupid I am going to kill you then bring you back just to clean up the mess."

He raised an eyebrow. "If you end up needing to save my neck then you're deviating from the initial plan,"

"I'm a beginner, Harry, just please remember that," I said seriously, my expression solemn.

"It's alright, Kailey, you're going to be fine," he grinned, placing a hand on my shoulder. I smiled in reply. "D'you want to try with the dragon again?"

"We've got Divination," I countered, shaking my head, subconsciously noting he had yet to remove his hand.

"You're joking,"

"Nope, and I need a break otherwise I might pass out," I added. "Keeping this rock in broom form is taking more out of me than I thought it would. You had better be quick about getting that egg,"

We started to descend slowly, neither of us replying. I guess our nerves were starting to get the better of us. Maybe it was just the general idea that twenty-four hours was not enough time for either one of us.

Breakfast the next morning was brutal. I kept trying to eat, realizing whatever was on my fork was useless and then putting it back on my plate. I was just positive that my brain was not going to remember how to swallow even if I managed to chew something. I glanced up at Harry and noticed (with a surge of envy) that he wasn't having as much trouble eating as I was. His plate looked so much more appetizing, even though we had the exact same meal. He glanced up as well.

"You alright?" his question forced Hermione's attention back on me. Again.

"Kailey, you need to get something into your system," she scolded lightly, stabbing something with my fork and holding it in front of me. "Please, eat,"

"I don't think my stomach will be able to handle anything at the moment," I muttered, looking away from the syrupy waffle.

"Good morning all," I didn't bother to glance up at Keena, though she placed a hand on my shoulder. "Kailey, why don't you have some fruit?"

"How long have you been watching?" Harry asked, a small smile growing on his face.

"For a while, actually," she smirked back. "Now, you, missy, have to eat something or I am never going to live it down. Severus may actually request to duel again,"

I managed a small laugh at that. "I'll try," I promised and blinked when the already-prepared fruit cup landed next to my plate. "That wasn't a real choice, was it?"

"Nope," she grinned happily, popping the 'p'. "Enjoy,"

History of Magic was far more of a blur than ever, though that may have been a good thing judging by the drool some of males in the room were providing. Suddenly I found myself back in the Great Hall for lunch, though this time Hermione sat across from us. I picked at my food before giving up and just twirling my wand in my hands, trying to keep my face blank as I looked at the staff table every two minutes.

Finally Professor McGonagall was standing up and heading for us. I nudged Harry who looked to me before looking over to McGonagall. He set down his fork and we stood up, silently, only nodding as she greeted us.

She spoke along the way to the small tent set up for the champions, but I didn't really hear anything that she said. I could've quoted it at any rate, considering the number of times I had read the entire scenario over the past few days.

"Good luck, to the both of you," she said, deviating from her script. I swallowed and tried to smile but I don't think she believed it.

We entered the tent to find Fleur had occupied the only stool inside, her eyes were closed and she looked like she might have been meditating, though her wand was twisting in her hands in quick, darting motions. Cedric was pacing swiftly at the back of the tent, though he paused to attempt a grin for Harry and me as we entered. Krum stood still in a corner and glared at the ground, though he also glanced up before returning to glare at the ground.

Bagman was bouncing slightly where he stood and looked as though he would burst once he spotted Harry. Better him than me, I suppose. "Harry! Fantastic! Now that we're all here we can begin." Cedric paused for a beat before returning to his motions. Fleur opened her eyes, though her wand kept moving while Krum simply stopped glaring at the ground and stared at Bagman with a blank face. "As soon as the stands fill, I shall be offering you each one of four different types of the same—er—thing." Wow. He really couldn't be trusted with a secret, could he? "Now, your only task is to collect the golden egg."

I swallowed again and willed my legs to stop shaking beneath me as I focused on breathing evenly. I tried to drown out the sounds of the audience as they made their way happily to the enclosure. It seemed strange to me that none of them sounded the least bit worried about what was about to happen to five teenagers.

"Ms. Delacour?" he held the bag out to her and I watched her shaking hand pull out a tiny green dragon. I took a deep breath as Krum reached into the bag, wondering for a moment in the back of my head why I wasn't offered the second pick; had he not said 'ladies first'? He pulled out the miniature Chinese Fireball. I couldn't keep my eyes open as Cedric pulled out the third pick, but I heard the tiny inhale next to me from Harry, as he pulled out our dragon. I watched it spit tiny flames in his palm before itching at the number four around its neck.

"There you are, now you all know what you're facing," he grinned excitedly at each of us, though I wasn't exactly sure he even saw my face. "Harry, could I have a word?"

Harry's surprise showed on his face but he nodded, handing the Horntail to me as he walked out of the tent with the giant yellow and black bumble bee that used to be a Wimborne Wasp.

"That vos strange," Krum muttered and the three of us turned to him in surprise, though he was looking only at me. "Vy vould he not vish to speak vith both of you?"

Fleur turned to look at me as well, but Cedric walked over to me. "He's Harry Potter, I'm not," I answered, feeling a grin tugging on my face.

Cedric managed a smile as well. "I guess some things will never change, eh?"

A whistle blew somewhere in the distance and the brief moment of humor was gone. Cedric closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Good luck," I said, gripping his shoulder for a second. He nodded before heading out of the tent. Fleur stood and began pacing and I made my way over to the stool and sat down, taking out my own wand and practicing my movements.

Harry came in moments after Cedric had left and came to stand next to me, twirling his wand in his hands, a habit he had picked up from Sirius since the beginning of the school year. I was successful in ignoring Bagman's comments, as well as the gasping from the crowd. I couldn't do anything in my head about the roaring of the dragon except to attempt to pretend it was thunder.

Finally, the shrill whistle blew and Fleur practically flew out of the tent without a backward glance. Krum began pacing, though he went far slower than Cedric and Fleur had. I noticed in the back of my mind that he paused every time the crowd reacted or Bagman said something. It seemed pointless to me. The third time the whistle blew I finally started reacting to noises. They were still dull background sounds, but they all made me jump.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked, pausing in his pacing as the whistle blew the final time.

I took a deep breath and knew that saying 'no' would only hurt us both in the end just by increasing our nerves that much more. "Let's go,"

The walk to the enclosure wasn't as long as I expected it to be. That was both good and bad. It was good because I didn't think my legs were going to be able to stand for much longer. It was bad because there was a monstrously huge, shiny black dragon with more spikes than seemed necessary crowning her head all the way down to her tail.

"_Accio Firebolt_!" Harry's shout jogged my memory.

I aimed my wand at the closest rock; it was the size of my head making it perfect seeing as that was what I had been practicing on. "_Muto silex talea Firebolt!"_ there was a brief sense of heat from my wand before the rock glowed yellowy orange as it lengthened into a replica of the Firebolt that had just landed in Harry's hands. The crowd was suddenly roaring as we mounted our brooms, blasting off into the air at the same time. I would never have dreamed of the sudden adrenaline rush that was coursing through my veins. I could do this.

"Shall we call her Slytherin?" I shouted over to Harry as we took turns darting towards the dragon before flipping back towards the sky.

He grinned widely before we dodged a long rope of flame issuing from the angry dragon's mouth. "Get her off the ground, there's not enough room,"

I nodded and blasted towards the dragon before spiraling off towards the air just as she opened her mouth. I felt the heat of the flame and even registered that the crowd was screaming but flew back at her anyway. This time she swiped at me with her claw, craning her head as far forward as she could without getting off the ground, even standing up.

"C'mon, dragon, time to get up, nobody but Hagrid wants your eggs," I muttered, catching her eye as Harry circled above us, waiting. I darted in again, but was much too close and her claw would have swatted me to the ground had Harry not dived in front of her face at the last second. We both swerved away, rushing to get out of her firing range before she could get her bearings. Harry managed to get behind her where she lost sight of him, too concerned with me to care about the second fly in her scope.

I resumed swerving back and forth across from her, her great yellow eyes glaring at me. Slowly, she began to lift her wings and I began moving just a bit faster, egging her on. She gave first one flap, then a second with her great black wings, finally lifting off into the air. I saw as Harry began to shoot towards her eggs, she tilted her head ever so slightly and caught sight of him. Her roar of frustration was earth shaking and I found myself sprinting towards him as her tail came slashing down. I got there just less than a second before her tail did and I tumbled off my broom as I collided with Harry, knocking him out of the way of her spikes. Before I could process the feeling of falling I found myself sitting on the front of Harry's broom, a heavy golden egg sitting in my lap. We sped away from the Horntail as the keepers sprinted out to tame her.

"We did it!" Harry grinned.

"I flew," I muttered.

"We're alive!"

"I flew,"

"Kailey?"

"I flew…"

"Yes, Kailey, you flew,"

I blinked.

"Are you okay?"

"When can I get on a broom again?"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View_:

I just about died when as the Horntail's tail came slashing down towards Harry, and I'm almost positive that I screamed. I never would have known what happened had I blinked, though. Lily (who was Libby again) and I were hugging one another desperately throughout the entire task, though neither of us had been able to close our eyes while Harry was on the field. I let myself relax as they landed far from the now unconscious dragon, the golden egg safe in Kailey's arms.

"Oh, Merlin, it's over," Lily whispered, leaning into me for support. I didn't have the heart to remind her that there were two more tasks.

"For now," James finished, staring unblinkingly at his son. Honestly, I could just hit my brother sometimes. "C'mon, let's go see him,"

By the time we got down to the field Harry and Kailey had been forced into the medical tent and Ron and Hermione had both beaten us there. Hermione had reddened eyes and Ron was noticeably pale beneath his freckles, but they all looked like friends again. Better than Sirius and I at any rate. I glanced over at him to see him wedged between Pomfrey and Remus; James hadn't said a word to him yet.

"Well done, Harry," James said, clapping him on the back.

"You as well, Kailey," I said, smiling at her. She grinned in return and Sirius walked over to her, giving her Severus' message in private while the rest of us zeroed in on Harry again.

"I have never been so proud," Lily was saying. "If you ever do that to me again, though, Harry James Potter, you will know exactly why your father always does as I say," her whisper was positively terrifying and all was silent for a second.

"Let's go get your scores," Ron suggested, breaking the silence and pulling Harry towards the mouth of the tent, Hermione and Kailey following closely.

The rest of us watched from the mouth of the tent.

"Because we had a duel team, we shall score each champion separately before averaging their score together!" Bagman shouted to the crowd. "Ms. Snape shall be judged first!"

Madame Maxime aimed her wand towards the sky first. A shining number nine hung in the air and was joined moments later by a number eight. The two merged to create an eight point five.

"I suppose she scored Kailey higher for rescuing Harry from the actual dragon," Remus said aloud to no one in particular, though I nodded in agreement as Crouch produced two number nines. Dumbledore matched Crouch with gold numbers before Bagman put up two sparkling tens.

"How much for a bet that Bagman put a bet on our kids?" James asked, looking around to see if anyone agreed. His face turned cold upon his realization that Sirius was also amused.

Karkaroff raised his wand and shot off in quick succession a number five and a number four, giving them a four point five. The crowd didn't seem to like that very much but there was some part of me that was a little bit glad Karkaroff didn't favor Harry and Kailey; it gave me a solid reason to continue disliking him.

"So where does that put them?" I asked, looking around at the others.

"One point ahead of Krum, I think," Sirius replied.

"Good, that'll show Karkaroff just how much _his_ opinion matters," James muttered, sounding maliciously satisfied.

Charlie Weasley confirmed Sirius' math moments later before telling Harry and Kailey that they were needed back in the original tent. Lily, Remus and James said their good-byes while Sirius and I followed the kids back to the tent as Kailey had requested.

No sooner had they entered the tent than Rita Skeeter literally popped out from behind some trees wearing peacock robes to match her quill. "Sirius, Keena! How lovely, I missed the two of you last time!"

"Rita, darling, is that a new quill?" I asked, faking the excitement one hundred percent. It was time for payback. Marauder style.

"Actually, it isn't," she answered, pausing as she went for her parchment. "It's quite rare as a matter of fact. Only twelve in the world,"

"Really, now, could I take a look?" Sirius asked, holding his hand out for it.

She raised an eyebrow but he winked at her and she giggled, handing the quill over. I resisted the urgr to gag.

"Hm…wonderful quality, would you like a look, love?" he asked, holding the quill to me by the tip.

"Oh, careful, it's very—!"

"Oops!" I cried as I snapped it at the tip. The charmed ink spilled all over the ground.

She gasped angrily, fumbling to get her wand out.

"Oh, no, darling, let me," I said, taking out my wand. I gave a quick sweeping wave and the ink disappeared completely. "There, now, we can't go polluting on the school grounds, the headmaster would have a fit."

"Dear me, Keena, love, would you hand me the broken bits? We don't want those nasty things floating around either," Sirius said, holding out his hand.

"Here you are," I said, allowing him to vanish those away as well.

"All better," he said.

"Why, Rita, dearest, whatever is the matter?" I asked as I watched her face morph from pale to purple at a speed I thought inhumane, though that just proved my point that she wasn't human I suppose...

* * *

"You both know why you are here, I presume?" Dumbledore stated, looking down his nose at Sirius and I as we sat, heads bowed, in his office. Rita huffed noisily behind us.

"Our dashing good looks?" Sirius guessed.

She huffed again.

"Personal property has been reported to me as being 'maliciously torn to bits and destroyed beyond the lengths that Peter Pettigrew was'. Is that true?"

"Considering Pettigrew wasn't destroyed at all…" I muttered.

"No, sir, you wouldn't have hired us if we were such monsters," Sirius answered aloud for the room. _I guess your definition of monster is slightly different from mine then…_

"There was no intentional destruction of property. The quill snapped. She should have been more careful with it. However, the magical properties accompanied by that particular quill had a poisonous residue about them," I explained, not completely without truth. The quill was poisonous, just not deadly. "Therefore, the best way to deal with the hazard was to use a complete vanishing spell. Had we _known_ it could be repaired, a different course may have been taken. As it was, those champions had just gone through a dangerous course. One champion had an open wound. We couldn't risk infection,"

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully while Rita huffed again. "Well, there you have it, Ms. Skeeter, I'm afraid I cannot punish my staff for doing the right thing by their students and their godson. You will simply have to make due with a different quill,"

"But…that…that is unacceptable, Dumbledore!" she shrieked.

"Headmaster Dumbledore to you, reporter!" one of the portraits barked from the wall behind us. Sirius sniggered.

"That quill was highly expensive!" she continued, ignoring both the portrait and Sirius.

"Then I suggest you provide the school with the proper documentation proving where, how and when you bought the quill and for how much. Until that is presented to first myself and then the goblins, I will not take further action. Now, please, school is in session," he nodded to the door and we all listened as she stomped down the stairs.

"Was any of what you just said true, Keena?" Sirius asked. I stared at him for a moment before turning my head to Dumbledore.

"Is that all you needed, sir?"

"Indeed, I just hope you know what you've gotten yourselves into,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View:_

The party in the common room was wild and full of food. Thank Merlin for that.

"Merlin, I'm starving," I cried as I vaulted into the common room, ignoring all of the cheering and heading straight for the table. "Laugh all you want! You face a dragon and then tell me you aren't a little hungry!" I grinned at the twins who had made noises as I shoved past them, handing the egg off to one of them.

"Bugger this thing is heavy," George commented, weighing it in his hands. "How'd a little thing like you manage to carry this?"

"And while you're so hungry," Fred added, taking the egg from his brother.

I paused gathering food to my plate and stared at them. "I am not little."

They glanced at one another and I narrowed my eyes.

"No, of course not,"

"Who would even suggest it?"

"Certainly not us,"

"You're only…what?"

"A little more than double Flitwick's height?"

The common room was entertained for a short while as I chased the twins around with _both_ of their wands in addition to my own. Finally, however, someone tripped George, causing Fred and I to collide into him.

"Not that I don't love you both dearly, but please, get the bloody hell off of me!" George grumbled and Fred and I laughed as we heaved ourselves off of the ground. "Now, who tripped me?" he asked, looking around the room full of suddenly giggling girls and whistling boys.

"This may call for retaliation," Fred suggested.

"Of course it does," George replied.

"Can't that wait till later?" a seventh year called. "Let's open the egg!"

"That's not allowed," Hermione's voice drifted over the crowd as I made my way over to where Harry stood with the object in question. "Kailey, tell them," she demanded staring at me with the same look Keena and Lily often used to get what they wanted. I wondered vaguely if I knew how to do it as well.

"They'll learn quick enough not to open it," I answered quietly with a wink.

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't think I like the sound of that," she replied as we both turned to face Harry, who was gripping the edges of the egg.

The wailing was unearthly and dreadful. I blocked my ears and backed away from the egg as I watched Harry snap it shut again rapidly. "Merlin what was that?"

"Sounds like Percy," Ginny suggested.

"Singing in the shower," George added.

"Merlin, I hope that that has nothing to do with the task," Ron groaned, shaking his head in his hands in some remembered pain. Poor kid.

**I feel as though this was shorter than normal, but I think that's a good place to stop…Any comments on the task/post-task events? Anyway, please review and next up will be chapter 17!**

**:-D**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: Snape's Story

**It has happened. I have taken over ownership of Harry Potter! Except not really. I'm just a crazy fan who wishes I could say that…**

**Let's all just cross our fingers for poor old Sirius, shall we? Enjoy it, will you?**

_Keena's Point of View: _

As December began, fewer and fewer students made their way in to see me. The only one who remained a regular visitor to my office for help was Neville and even he was beginning to come less, though that had little to do with excitement as the holidays approached. All of his grades were on the rise, including potions so I was surprised when Severus knocked on my door.

"I refuse to put with this nonsense any longer," he growled, marching right up to my desk and placing both hands on top of the papers I was grading.

I leaned back and raised an eyebrow at him. "Put up with what, exactly Severus?"

"You know perfectly well what! How could you give up on him so easily?"

"I thought he was improving to be honest…?" the statement turned into a question at the look I was suddenly being given.

"Is that what you call improvement?" he hissed, leaning closer. If I leaned back any further I would fall off of my chair. "Then I'd hate to see what you call absolute failure,"

"What in Merlin's beard are you talking about? I've never seen him do so well!" my voice went up an octave in my surprise and growing fury. Neville's grade had jumped up a letter and a half since we started in September. It would have been impressive for anyone, even Hermione.

"He's nearly at breaking point, Keena," Snape's face was the most livid I had ever seen it. Well…maybe not as livid as our last duel but it was still up there.

"What?" I was in complete shock. Neville was the happiest I had ever seen him to be.

"You must take him back," his face grew less intense for a moment and my eyes narrowed.

"We aren't talking about the same person, are we?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Who are you speaking of?"

"Neville Longbottom," I replied stonily.

"Then no, we are not,"

"Then you should keep your nose out of it," I growled back, standing with my hands on my desk as well, causing him to back off in shock. He stood back and folded his arms as I glared at him.

"Do you know the real reason I am not wed to Kailey's mother?" he asked, shocking me for a second time. My glare slipped off into a mask of confusion as I shook my head. "She left me. Before I even knew of her pregnancy."

"I don't understand…" I frowned.

He sighed and rubbed his temples before taking a seat across from my desk as I followed in suite. He looked up, his face returning to its usual grumpy outlook. "She thought that she had caught me with another woman. She didn't listen to explanations, for there were at least two valid points I had to make with my argument. It didn't matter. I lost her and my daughter because of one mistake and look at where I've ended up,"

I shook my head, looking away from him. It was odd having this conversation with Severus but at the same time…not so odd. "It isn't the same. Your daughter…she's alive."

"It is the same, he had the same argument, and I can almost guarantee it,"

I looked back at him, not wanting to hear the answer. I _needed_ to hear it.

"I loved her and I would have done anything for her," he stated quietly. He ignored me as I inhaled a loud, shaky gasp. "I have never moved on from her, even knowing she has a husband and a son with him. Black and I have always had things in common. Our families were dark, our parents neglectful and a rough life after school. It would be nice if I could just have one thing that was different from what he has. Then I could go back to properly disliking the mutt without feeling sympathy."

"I…still love him. But how can I forget what he did?"

"He spent twelve years in Azkaban, thinking only of you and you wish to punish him further for something he did while he was a fool in grieving? How selfish are you, _Potter_? Has the arrogance gone to your head already?" he sneered, making me flinch at his harsh words. He noticed. "Where is your ring?" he snapped.

"In my bedside drawer," I whispered.

"Go get it,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Look out!" I shouted, pulling Lavender out of the way as a Blast-Ended Skrewt flew by us, stinger aimed straight for where she had been standing moments ago. "I'm going to lose a limb…" I muttered and she laughed nervously as we moved to corner it, me with my wand ready, Lavender with a lasso.

It was freezing but I, along with the half of the class that was outside of Hagrid's hut, were scorched and sweating as we scrambled to gather the last of the skrewts. They did not appreciate nap time.

"Don' hurt him, now, Kailey," Hagrid called as he helped Dean wrestle a skrewt into a box. Ron and Harry were still chasing the last one in circles.

"Hurt, right, yeah okay," I grumbled, aiming my wand underneath the armor. "Ready the lasso, partner," Lavender nodded, bracing herself. "_Impedimenta_!"

The creature lunged into the spell and froze suddenly, floating mid-air. Lavender rushed forward and tied its stinger to its body and we carried it over to the box Seamus was holding open for us. We closed the lid just as the skrewt was regaining mobility.

"Good exercise, at least," I grinned at the two of them before turning to watch Harry and Ron just as they tackled their prey. Hermione was going around to each box and checking for cracks and burns before repairing them as needed.

"What fun you all seem to be having,"

I froze and turned to see a magenta clad Rita Skeeter leaning on one of the posts of the paddock. I noticed with a sense of gratitude that her usual quill had been replaced by a common black feather and a regular pad of parchment. I wondered briefly if she was able to write legibly.

"What are these lovely creatures?" she asked sweetly.

"None-o-ya," I replied before anyone else could respond, Hagrid was just walking over to investigate.

"Pardon me?"

"None of your business," I clarified. "You aren't allowed on the school grounds and we have to report you to Auror Black if we see you," I added, smirking when she flinched at the sound of Sirius' name. She had been unable to do her piece on the Tournament without her trusty quill. It was a very refreshing change to have some nice words said about each champion with no obnoxious side stories.

"Now, now, dear, that seems a tad extreme considering how much this school owes me,"

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you referring to when you nearly poisoned us after the task? Maybe someone should write a story about _that_,"

"Mind your own business, you silly little girl,"

"Pardon me, bu' I can' have yeh talkin' ter me students in such a way. I'll have ter ask yeh to leave," Hagrid said sternly, his beetle black eyes staring down at the blonde witch.

She huffed and turned on her heel, marching away, her quill and notepad pressed back into her crocodile handbag. I glared after her for a moment before Hagrid tapped me on my shoulder, causing my knees to buckle slightly. I looked up at him to see him giving me a slightly disapproving look.

"She called my mother a prostitute. How would you like me to act around her?" I asked, folding my arms and raising an eyebrow.

To my surprise, Hagrid just chuckled and ruffled my hair, causing my elastic to snap and my hair to come tumbling down my back. I laughed and gathered it all back up in the spare elastic I carried around while Hagrid continued to chuckle.

We left Care of Magical Creatures and began making our way to Divination. The star charts were an absolute bore, but it was entertaining to listen to Ron and Harry's side comments and watch Parvati and Lavender's faces when they heard them.

"I am sensing…great…discomfort for those of experienced courage," she looked over in my direction but I just raised an eyebrow in reply. Discomfort wasn't a new thing for me in the first place anyway, right? "It's a very…dangerous discomfort. It shall arrive before the New Year,"

"Which star told her that?" I mumbled and the boys sniggered. Unless I met my death while dancing at the Yule Ball, I was going to assume Trelawney was just as mad as usual.

She moved on quickly to predicting Harry's demise, occasionally hinting at mine but only because of the Tournament. Harry yawned as she informed him his doom was fast approaching and she glared at him before rotating to Lavender and Parvati, both of whom were panicking over something on their charts.

"When can we drop Divination?" Harry asked as we headed away from the tower and towards the common room. "Or can we do what Hermione did and just duck out?"

"Only a year and a half left," I said brightly and they both groaned.

"I knew I should've taken Muggle Studies," Ron grumbled. "I could've gotten all O's! My dad would've loved it!"

I rolled my eyes, but grinned all the same before glancing down a different corridor. Keena was fast-walking away from the area where her quarters were located, heading towards us. As she got closer, I noticed her eyes were a bit red.

"Harry? What's wrong with Keena?"

He looked over too and the three of us stopped and waited for her. She slowed as she spotted us, giving us all a weak grin.

"Where've you lot come from?" she asked, her voice almost surprisingly controlled.

"Divination," Ron answered when Harry failed to.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked before she could reply.

She grinned. "Soon, Harry, I will be,"

I frowned a tiny bit and then looked at her hand. I gasped before jumping up and down, squealing like a five year old. Harry and Ron stared at me as if I had lost it. "You've put it back on!" I whispered excitedly.

She chuckled a bit and I lunged at her, giving her a huge hug before bouncing back to where I had been standing before. Harry and Ron exchanged looks before rolling their eyes at me. "Does Sirius know, yet?" Harry asked, keeping his own energy subdued. It was there, definitely.

Her grin faltered for a moment. "Not yet, but I'm sure I can fix his attitude eventually," she assured him and he finally grinned.

"Then I'll be happy for you," he promised.

"Thanks, Harry," she answered, her smile returning. "Now, go ahead and get yourselves some dinner; those elves notice it when students don't show up and they don't appreciate it!"

"Where are you going?" Ron called as she headed in the wrong direction.

"To find Auror Black," she answered before heading off again.

"That's so great!" I squealed once she was gone and we were walking again. "I mean it! They'll both be so much happier! Life can finally go back to normalish,"

"You know, I think I missed that," Ron informed me, throwing an arm around my shoulder as we turned down the corridor that contained the Fat Lady. I looked up at him and cocked my head to the side in question. "Your strange words. It's nice not being confined to the Warlock's Dictionary,"

"Well, then, I suppose I should inform you that the term 'ish' may be added to most adjectives, adverbs, verbs and nouns," I explained, slinging an arm around his and Harry's waists.

"Is that Hermione?" Harry asked as Ron laughed at my completely serious expression. I was just explaining facts; I didn't really see what was so funny.

"Aw, jeez, I don't know if I want to deal with Winky today," I mumbled. "I'm currently in a good mood," I explained as they both looked down at me.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I reached his office door and knocked loudly. I heard the order to come in and paused with my hand on the door knob. Deciding it wouldn't be a good idea to sprint in the other direction after knocking I opened the door slowly, taking a deep breath.

He didn't look up right away but when he did, his expression froze in between confusion and curiosity. I quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind me with a snap, leaning against it for support. "I'm not interrupting something, am I?" I asked quietly, my brief euphoric feelings that I had gained during my short conversation with Harry and his friends had given me evaporating.

It took him a second to answer. "No, nothing…" he paused for a moment. "Can I…help you?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This odd formality he was treating me with…was it really my fault? "Yes," I replied, coming into the room and placing my hands on his desk as Severus had. "I need you to be back in our quarters the second you are done with your shift tonight."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "I get off early tonight, at nine," he informed me. "Severus just came in not twenty minutes ago requesting that I take his late shift tomorrow in exchange," his eyes narrowed further. "For the love of Merlin and my sanity, _please_ tell me Severus didn't know whatever this is before I did,"

I raised both eyebrows at that before grinning slightly, lifting my left hand to brush my hair behind my ear. "Everything's still conspiracy with you, isn't it, Sirius?" I managed to keep my grin a small smile as his mouth dropped, his eyes following my left hand as it went back to his desk. "Nine o'clock, Sirius, we've got a lot to talk about," I told him before heading out of the door.

I closed it behind me and leaned against it for a moment, smiling to myself a little when I heard him laughing. I opted to skip dinner and go straight to the kitchens that night. I had a feeling our reunion would involve more than one kiss (the limit Harry and Kailey had placed on us over the summer) even though I had no intention of keeping us a secret from Alana Collins, who would no doubt inform her aunt of the change. In all honesty, I was banking on that. I wanted everyone to know that Sirius Black was completely _mine_.

I reached the kitchens and was greeted with a very excited house-elf who introduced himself as Dobby.

"Dobby is knowing all abouts Professor Potter. She is being strong for Harry Potter, always watching over him, even if she is being in trouble with the Headmaster. Even if she is being in trouble with the Ministry! Dobby hears very bad things from his old masters, but he is not believing them, Professor, oh no, he is not! Dobby is knowing Professor Potter is a great and noble witch for she is being Harry Potter's godmother!" his head was bobbing up and down and shaking side to side in accordance with what he was saying.

"Thank you, Dobby, that is very kind of you," I smiled, accepting a warm butterbeer from an elflet after dinner. She bobbed back over to her mother and smiled shyly at me as I nodded my thanks in her direction.

He blushed and waved a hand before fiddling with his sweater. "Dobby is only speaking truth to Professor Potter, Madame," he replied. "Dobby wishes Professor Potter to know that he is also keeping his eyes open for Harry Potter. Dobby is knowing how special Harry Potter is, especially to Professor Potter and Auror Black,"

"I appreciate that, Dobby, but does Harry know that?" I asked kindly. I had a feeling this elf could get over-excited about things. I glanced down nervously at his socks.

"I is always making sure Harry Potter is knowing when I is there," Dobby nodded, bowing low. "But Harry Potter visited Dobby today! Dobby was filled with great joy!"

I laughed and Dobby smiled toothily at me before continuing to tell me everything he had experienced since the Malfoys had freed him unintentionally. I'll admit, I laughed pretty hard when he told me about the ending of _that_ episode. Eventually I checked my watch to find it was quarter until nine and I managed to leave the kitchens without taking any extra food with me, which was impressive in itself I have to admit.

I made my way back to our rooms and was glad to find I had beat him back so that I had time to mentally prepare myself for forgiving him out loud and to his face. I just hoped that he would be able to forgive me and my behavior, though I still wasn't sure if I needed to be forgiven at all yet. I lost myself in musings, sitting on the couch and staring at the fire. I jumped at the sound of the door opening and turned to face Sirius as he entered.

We stared at one another for what felt like hours, though somewhere in my head I knew it was hardly a few minutes. It felt good to be able to just look at him. To not see an angry glare or a forlorn expression on his face was…refreshing. He didn't look happy at the moment, but calm was a good enough substitute for the moment.

"You put your ring back on," he said quietly. I nodded in reply, not quite knowing what to say in response. "Why?"

"Because there is something that I need to hear from you," I answered in the same tone. "I haven't been fair to you, I know that, but you have to understand why I was…why I was upset. I am still upset. But I want to forgive you. I just need to hear something from you first,"

He took a step forward and then another. He ended up coming to stand in front of where I was sitting and I stared up at him, waiting. "I…Merlin, Keena, I'm so sorry," he said, taking a hold of my hands and kneeling on the ground in front of me. "I swear, I'll do anything for you. Forever, anything for you, forever."

"Why?" I whispered, leaning towards him, gripping his hands, pulling them closer to me.

"Because I love you,"

I closed the distant between us, kissing him fiercely, hungrily, pleased when he responded with the same fervor. I was quickly taken in by the moment and my only reaction to him carrying me into the bedroom was to shut the door behind him.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"She's sitting next to him," Hermione called to Harry, who had refused to enter the Great Hall without knowing the outcome of Keena's version of match-maker. The result was hardly surprising in my opinion but I guess Harry had just wanted to be sure. "And they look absolutely adorable," she added with a grin.

Harry's smile dimmed at that. "Adorable or embarrassing?" He asked, still waiting out in the hall.

I went to stand next to Hermione to have a look myself. They were sitting between McGonagall and Snape, both of whom were leaning away from the couple. Keena and Sirius seemed oblivious to that, though, as they had their heads bent close together as they spoke. Dumbledore glanced over at them, raised an eyebrow and shook his head before chuckling to himself, though McGonagall's lips were moving so I assumed she said something funny.

"You know what, Harry? I think you should just act as if they aren't even there," I suggested just as Sirius gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "Yeah, don't bother looking," I added.

He sighed, somewhere between annoyed and pleased and came through the doors with Ron who looked up at the table made a face and looked away again. I shook my head to myself. _Boys_…

We walked over to our table and I was about to sit down when Harry spoke up. "Actually, Kailey, would you mind switching seats with Ron today?"

I froze with one leg over the bench and looked up at Ron who was in the same position. "And…why would I do that?"

He shrugged. "It's easier to hold a conversation if the person is sitting on the other side of the table,"

I pretended not to notice the look of realization that lit up Ron's face for a second. Mostly because I didn't fully understand it, but then Hermione giggled and I just _knew_ I was missing something big.

"Um…okay, sure," I muttered, heading back around the table, unable to duck under it as Ron had thanks to my skirt. I sat down and looked across at Hermione, who ducked her face as she laughed again. "What?" I demanded, pulling my hands through my hair, wondering if something was wrong.

"Nothing, your hair is fine," she answered, still trying to keep the laughter out of her voice. "Really," she added when I didn't stop running my hands through it.

"Is too much blue showing or something?" I asked, pulling it over my shoulder to inspect the damage. It didn't look any stranger than usual. I really didn't understand what was going on.

"Just relax, I remembered something funny," she replied, pulling a plate of toast towards herself.

Obviously I did not believe that for one second. I wondered over it throughout breakfast and for what seemed like the rest of the day. Transfiguration rolled around and I finished second only to Hermione in transforming my guinea fowl into a guinea pig (though I liked the coloring on mine better I must admit) and I began playing with my hair again.

"I told you, there's nothing wrong with it," she muttered to me. "I've told you that the past few classes as well," she added. "You'll pull it all out,"

I shook my head. "It's not that, I just can't figure out what was so funny,"

I looked blankly at her when she shook her head and laughed. "Well it was just that—hey!" she mumbled, rubbing the back of her head where a parchment ball had bounced off of it. I laughed and she glared at me. "Fine, I won't tell you,"

I sobered up quickly. "Aw, c'mon, Mione, you've gotta admit that was funny,"

"So is the look on your face when you try to figure this out," she quipped. I pouted and she smirked in reply. "Later, McGonagall said she wanted to announce something,"

We both looked up at her just as she started scolding Ron and Harry at the back of the room. I laughed at the sound of a thud as one of their 'weapons' found itself without a head. "Now that Potter and Weasley have decided to pay attention," a few of us snickered quietly. "It is time to announce to all of you the next event in the Triwizard Tournament."

I grinned, holding my wand steady under the desk. I had made a quick visit to Sirius' office just after lunch specifically for this announcement. Granted, it would only work if she said the words just right.

"The Yule Ball is perhaps the most important social event that takes place during the Tournament. The three attending schools will all go to the Ball Christmas Night, ending at midnight and beginning early in the evening. Dress robes will be worn and only fourth years and above shall be in attendance, though you may take a younger student as your…partner, if you wish." Lavender nudged Parvati, who was immediately giggling and they both glanced back in our direction, probably to look at Ron and Harry who had sat behind us. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing at them.

"Now the Yule Ball is the chance for you all to—er—let your hair down,"

Suddenly, her hair band snapped and her hair tumbled out of its tight bun, leaving it wavy as it reached past her shoulders. She jumped in surprise but the class burst out laughing and I quickly stowed my wand away to make sure she couldn't prove it was me. She huffed and flicked her wand at the elastic to repair it and then at her hair so that it shaped itself into a bun once more.

"However!" she said sternly and the class quieted immediately. "This is not an excuse for rule breaking! I shall be severely ashamed if any Gryffindor student, past or present, makes any sort of embarrassment. We Gryffindors have always been excellent dancers, lady or gentleman,"

The bell rang and the class scrambled to leave and I tried my best to beeline away but I couldn't ignore when she called for me and Harry to come to the front.

"Sup, Mickey?" I asked completely unnecessarily.

"I take it you did not inform Mr. Potter of this particular task?" she asked, glancing at Harry. I looked as well and noticed he was giving me a rather annoyed glare.

I shrugged. "It was need to know," he rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath.

"Yes well, now the both of you must make sure that you have partners so that when you begin the Ball—"

"Partners?" Harry interrupted, sounding like he was choking.

"Yes, for when you open the Ball," McGonagall finished, rather frostily as she eyed his beheaded haddock.

"I don't dance,"

"Yes, Potter, you do. It is tradition for the three—er, five, champions to open the Yule Ball with their partners," she explained.

"But, Professor, I really can't dance," he said again, this time more slowly.

"Then I suggest you find someone to teach you, Potter. This is not an optional task. A champion must not only show bravery and cleverness, but poise and elegance,"

"Besides, you've already got dress robes," I inserted with a grin.

He looked positively devastated.

"Really, Potter, you've just faced a dragon and you're allowing a formal dance to frighten you? Pluck up your courage and ask Auror Black for…no. Ask your aunt for feminine advice if necessary,"

I snorted at her blatant blow at Sirius, but Harry looked a bit more nervous. I rolled my eyes. It wasn't as if girls were scary, we didn't travel in wild packs at any rate.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Kailey and Hermione entered my office one afternoon, both looking giggly and very girly. I smiled to myself as they shut the door.

"Who got asked and by whom?" I questioned immediately.

"Viktor Krum," Hermione answered before Kailey burst into giggles again at Hermione's blush. "Not fifteen minutes ago, in the library. He just came up to me and asked if he could study with me for a moment and Kailey excused herself,"

"I hid behind a bookshelf," she informed me slyly.

"Anyway, he cleared his throat and I looked at him and he stood up, bowed and asked if he could 'have the honor of taking me vith him to the ball'," she giggled excitedly at the end before smiling. "Though, he doesn't say my name quite right,"

Kailey laughed out loud. "Get used to that,"

"So, who are you going with, Kailey?" I asked, leaning my elbow on my desk and smirking as she blushed before sighing.

"I've turned down a couple of guys already. I don't want to go with a boy I've never talked to before," she answered, shrugging. "It would be weird and it would seem like they were only asking me for the attention."

"Well…how about the French boy who likes you so much? Or maybe Harry? Does he have a date yet?"

She frowned suddenly and Hermione patted her shoulder consolingly.

"What did my nephew do?" I frowned and narrowed my eyes. If I had to fix this, I would.

"Nothing, but that's just the problem," Hermione answered. "We think he's set on going with Cho Chang, but…he won't actually say so,"

"Though he hasn't asked her yet," Kailey said quickly. "And I don't think he will before she gets herself a date at any rate, not that I'd mind," she tacked that on at the end with a rush.

"Work on your lying skills, they're not all that great," I replied and she blushed. "Give him time, he'll figure it all out soon enough,"

"Soon enough for me to have a partner?" she asked hopefully. "I really can't wait very long or else he might ask his version of a back up date,"

"You don't make the cut?"

"Not sure,"

"Well, then, I say if this French kid asks you, just say yes. You'll have fun and maybe make Harry realize what a prat he was not to ask you first," I told her with a shrug. "A little jealously goes a long way. Trust me,"

Sirius agreed with me that night in our quarters when I told him what I had said to the girls. We were lying on my bed, facing one another and just talking.

"That'll give those two boys the wakeup call they need," Sirius replied when I finished telling him my theory. "I don't think they really understand what they're doing yet in any case. A year from now, I'd wager they would've asked those two straight away."

"Maybe," I mumbled in slight disagreement, playing with one of his hands with both of my own. "I'm not so sure they'll grow up that fast,"

"That's very distracting," he mumbled in reply, staring at our hands.

I smirked. "Focus, Auror Black, we're discussing our godchild's love life, not ours,"

He rolled his eyes before tugging his hand out of my grip and pulling me closer to him, our legs twining together and he began running a hand through my hair. "Hypocrite," I accused with a false glare.

"So, what are you wearing to the ball?" he asked casually, ignoring my comment.

"A pretty dress," I answered innocently.

"Which looks like…?"

"You'll have to wait and see,"

"Keena, I can't see the wedding dress, this is just a ball," he informed me, leaning his forehead against mine and speaking as if I were a five year old. "Besides, I only need to know the color; the rest is like gibberish to me,"

I laughed at this, knowing he was being completely honest. "Alright, well it's scarlet and I'm wearing gold jewelry with it,"

"And what color am I wearing?" he asked. "Do I get to match Gryffindor as well?"

"I got you a set of navy robes with some gold designing around the hem," I answered, reaching up to brush some hair out of his eyes. "You'll need a trim before the ball," I added.

"How come you get to be Gryffindor like? I thought you didn't even like gold jewelry" he pouted, glancing at my silver ring.

"The jewelry was Mrs. Potter's…" I answered quietly. "I thought it would be appropriate,"

He frowned and kissed the top of my head, pulling me close. "Keena, you can call her 'mum', you always could have,"

"I know, it's just that it was…it is habit," I answered smiling a bit. "Anyway, the robes I'm wearing are similar to the ones she used to own way back in the day. Madame Malkin custom made them for me quite some time ago,"

"That was before your name switch?"

I nodded. "It didn't matter, she still gave me half price off in honor of…mum,"

"Have you asked Harry to walk you down the aisle yet?" he asked, our topics switching.

"Not yet, I figured I'd wait until we had actually set a date. Plus, now I won't have to ask him a second time," I grinned guiltily up at him.

He groaned. "I want them to be there, but I don't want to keep waiting like this. How did you keep this secret for so long?"

"Loads of practice, and years of drowning my sorrows," I informed him cheekily. He rolled his eyes at me and we fell silent for a moment and I snuggled into his chest.

"I don't want the French kid taking Kailey to the ball," he said suddenly.

"Random, Sirius, very random," I replied, not removing my head from his chest to read his expression.

"I just don't like the way he's been watching her. It's weird."

"James never did like the way you looked at me, no one ever like the way James looked at Lily, and I think you're being biased."

"Severus doesn't like it either,"

"Right, because a father is never biased,"

"Neither does Harry, I'd bet,"

"Don't make me have to look at you." I answered, still not moving.

"Fine, but I'm keeping my eyes on that boy. Really and truly,"

"You do that, dear,"

"I will,"

We were silent again before I mumbled. "Make Harry watch out as well,"

**Yay, they love each other again! Does that mean she completely trusts him? No, probably not, but she's trying. I guess you'll just have to wait and see who asks Kailey to the Ball (any strong opinions on what you'd like to see?)! Review plz! Next is number 18!**

**:-D**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: Question?

**Back to the drawing board again (I'm out of clever ways of disclaiming this…).**

**Thanks for continuing to read! Enjoy it!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Alright, fine, I admit it. I want Harry to ask me to the Yule Ball. There, I've said it. Go ahead, laugh all you like. The problem is I would also like Leon to ask me. It was a highly annoying problem that I would have to eventually compromise but there it was. And the worst part? I wasn't even sure if either of them would ask me or if I would have to pluck up the courage to ask one of them myself. And then what? I consider myself fairly traditional, so when all is said and done, I'd rather not do the asking. Decisions…decisions…

"Kailey?" I snapped out of my warring thoughts to find Harry waving a hand in front of my face. "You alright?"

"Yep, absolutely fine," I answered, dipping my quill back in the ink so that I could finish up my essay for Charms. It was due either tomorrow or the next day, I couldn't remember so I figured better safe than sorry.

"Good, then you heard my question?" he asked, jumping when I splattered ink all over the page. I groaned and removed the ink before looking up at him.

"No, sorry, didn't catch it. What did you say?" I was severely hoping he had not just asked me to the Ball while I wasn't listening. It would be highly embarrassing for both of us, but mostly me.

"I asked if you had any insight as to why girls travel in packs."

"Oh," nope, not the answer I really wanted to hear according to how my entire self esteem plummeted. "I dunno, Harry, I never really have,"

"C'mon, Kailey, when are you ever alone?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"Um…"

"Exactly!" he said triumphantly. "So, why?"

"Well…I mean it's just sort of habit I suppose. We're very social creatures, Harry, we don't enjoy being alone for the most part…well…maybe loners like it, but I don't know about that either…"

"So how do I pick one off?"

I scowled. "Rephrase that, it sounds like you're trying to hunt someone down,"

"Sorry, but how do I get one by herself?" he pressed, turning a bit pink.

"Ask,"

"I just did,"

"No, I mean ask her to talk to you. They'll all giggle like mad, but that's to be expected, especially around the time of a dance—er, Ball, I mean," I answered with a shrug.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, thanks, that was loads helpful,"

He stood up and headed up to his dorm without another word and all I could do was sigh and shake my head. Cho had already been asked by Cedric, it was going all around the girls' bathrooms at a whirlwind speed, though no one had picked up on who was being taken by Krum yet, just that he was unavailable. It would be highly amusing to watch the faces of his fan club on the day of the Ball.

"You know, Kailey, I reckon you should ask him yourself," I glanced up to see Fred and George sitting down on the couch Harry had vacated, both holding boxes of brightly wrapped mysteries that I had zero intention of touching. "I mean it," Fred repeated.

"The girl he wants to take is taken already, I might as well wait a bit longer," I answered, not bothering to hide in blushes or secrets. It wouldn't do any good with the twins, they'd just hint at it if they thought I was lying. "And I've got a back-up,"

"Back-up?" George asked, frowning and swapping a glance with Fred.

"What d'you mean?" Fred finished.

"Well…I'm not exactly sure if I'd call him a back-up…more like, I'd be perfectly willing to go with him should he ask me before Harry, which seems pretty likely at the moment," I answered with a shrug. "I've been debating who is really in first place as far as options go," I added thoughtfully.

They both gave me a stern look. It was both amusing and frightening to see on their faces but I kept a blank look in place, only tilting my head to the side in confusion. "No," they said in unison.

I blinked. "Huh?"

"No," George said again.

"He is not even close," Fred began.

"Not even remotely," George added.

"To be considered," Fred embellished.

"An acceptable option," they finished in unison again. It was making me a bit nervous, if truth be told.

"We know you're talking about that French boy," George informed me.

"He isn't worth a glance," Fred told me.

"So don't let us catch you going with him,"

"The whole talking in freaky twin and unison thing is freaking me out," I replied, shaking my head. "And he's harmless. Besides, what could possibly happen with the two of you looking out for me?"

"He's a teenage boy," Fred started.

"And therefore, not harmless," George completed.

"Just go ask Harry,"

"For our sakes,"

I glared at them. "No. If he wants to take me, he'll ask me. The same goes for Leon. Whoever asks first is going to be said 'yes' to. That's all there is to it," I turned back to my parchment as a signal that I was done with the conversation. They didn't move and I found myself unable to concentrate. Just then Hermione walked into the common room.

"Hello everyone…what's wrong?"

I looked up to see that both twins were still glaring at me. I rolled my eyes. "Hermione, when is the Charms essay due?"

"Day after tomorrow," she answered, clearly confused as she looked between the three of us.

"Good," I said, rolling up the parchment (the ink was now dry) and gathering my things before marching up to the dorm.

I was growing more and more concerned as the end of the term drew near. It was all well and good for a guy to go stag, but I just couldn't do that. Not to mention it would be awkward were I forced to dance by myself at the beginning of the ball. What was possibly more annoying was that every day Harry would make me sit next to him, making it so that there was no way for me to even see Leon in the mornings, afternoons or evenings. I was worried that it made it appear as though I didn't want to be asked by him and that Harry wouldn't consider asking me himself. Both were rather unpleasant options when it came right down to it.

"You are so lucky Krum's got nerve," I groaned to Hermione on our way to dinner Friday. Ron had left something behind in the Potions room and waved us on, not wanting me to have to deal with Snape. Harry had been less than focused the entire class before shooting out as soon as the bell rang, barely calling back that he'd meet us for dinner. "Scratch that, you're lucky someone likes you enough to ask you,"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Really Kailey, plenty of boys here like you enough to ask you,"

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Then why has no one I've ever held a conversation with bothered to ask me?" Plenty of boys had asked me, after all, just none that knew me or that had spoken to me before Halloween.

"Have you seen the way Auror Black and Professor Snape look at boys who get within a certain distance of you? They're all just too terrified to do anything." She stated matter-of-factly. I wasn't sure if that made things worse or better.

I opened my mouth to counter when I heard someone calling my name from the other side of the entrance hall. I looked up to see Leon wrapped in his blue cloak, shedding off a pair of gray gloves and waving at me with a wide grin. I smiled back and Hermione nudged me towards him before heading into the Great Hall herself.

"'ello, mademoiselle, 'ow are you zis evening?" he asked, swiftly taking my hand and pressing it to his lips.

"Very well, thanks. And yourself?" I replied, trying my best not to blush.

"I am well. But I 'ave something to give to you," he said, reaching into his cloak and I gasped as he pulled out a sparkling white rose. Even the stem of it was shimmering like snow. He bent down onto one knee and all commotion in the hall immediately ceased and everything was silent. "Would you do me ze honor of accompanying me to ze Yule Ball?"

The blush that had not yet completely diminished returned full force as I realized the entire hall was waiting on my answer, waiting with bated breath. I briefly wondered at how much gossip this would cause before remembering I didn't really care.

"I would love to go to the ball with you," I replied with a smile, accepting the rose. He grinned wider and stood up as the hall resumed its way to dinner. Leon began walking me into the Great Hall when there was sudden laughter from the doorway. I frowned, craning my neck to see what was going on.

"Iz zat not a friend of yours?" Leon asked and I nodded watching as Ron full out sprinted towards the stairs. "Ah," Leon continued without waiting for Ron to fully disappear. "I should 'ave known. Fleur prefers to flaunt 'er talents so zat 'er personality iz not so important,"

I smirked. "You sound a bit bitter," I noted.

He shrugged. "It iz not important, I 'ave ze most beautiful witch in all of ze three schools to accompany me," he said, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

I shook off the slight discomfort the gesture produced in the pit of my stomach. It was just because I was only used to Harry, Ron and the twins. Hermione and I were starved from any other male contact.

"You know, maybe I should go see if he's alright," I mumbled, glancing back towards the stairs. "He's like a brother to me," I added at Leon's wary glance.

"I will see you tomorrow zen, so zat we can make arrangements for ze ball," he replied, kissing my hand once more.

I grinned a little before heading back up to the common room. I could always get food from the elves later any way. I twirled the rose in my hands as I said "Fairy lights," for the Fat Lady who nodded happily.

"You had better cheer that poor boy up; I don't think he even realized he was asking that little veela," she said to me as I entered.

I found Ron sitting with his face in his hands, elbows on his knees. Ginny was just approaching him as the portrait shut with a snap behind me. I went over and knelt in front of him, stowing the rose inside of my cloak in an attempt to not make him feel any worse.

"It's alright, Ron," I said as Ginny patted his arm in comfort, nodding in agreement.

"I dunno why I did it," he choked out, pale beneath his freckles. "She's so…_pretty_, why would she even consider a bloke like me?"

"Oh, what rubbish," Ginny replied sternly. "Any girl would be lucky to go with you,"

"You're my sister, you're supposed to say that," he mumbled to his hands.

"Only if it were true is she supposed to say that. Otherwise she'd just make up some nonsense about Fleur just being picky," I said matter-of-factly. "The fact is, Ron, you don't know how hot of a topic you are in the girls lavatories,"

He looked up at me, both eyebrows raised in surprise. "Girls talk about me?"

I waved a hand. "All the time. Besides, you can't go with Fleur; it would be extremely awkward—at least in the not so distant future anyway,"

He narrowed his eyes. "And why's that?"

I smirked. "Need to know,"

"Doesn't matter, I've humiliated myself," he resumed his position with his face in his hands.

"What's the matter with Ron?" I looked up to see Harry walking over to us, looking a bit down as well.

"He…sort of asked Fleur to the ball," I answered quickly as Ron groaned.

"She wasn't even available! She was talking to Diggory," he said, suddenly a tad more defensive. "It just slipped out, I swear,"

"She's part veela, probably trying to ask Diggory herself," Harry answered, shifting quickly to monotone. "But he's already going with Cho…"

"How do you know that?" Ron asked, lifting his head.

"I just asked her and she told me," Harry replied, sitting down in the chair next to Ron's seat.

"So, you still don't have a date either?" Ron asked, looking up and freezing as he looked at me with wide eyes. But he was talking to Harry. "What about Hermione?"

Wow. What a blow.

"She's already been asked," I said stiffly, trying to convince myself he had meant no harm in not suggesting me, despite the fact I was sitting right in front of him.

"By who?" Ron asked incredulously.

"None of your business," Ginny answered from behind him and he swiveled around to look between the two of us.

"Right, she's probably just saying that to avoid someone else asking her," he scoffed. "And how would you know, Ginny?"

"She told Neville when he asked her," she replied with a shrug.

Just as she said it, the portrait swung open loudly and Hermione came in, frowning. "Why didn't any of you go to dinner?"

"They've both been rejected by their first choice dates," I answered, feeling no sympathy for either of them at the moment. "And they don't seem to want to believe that someone's already taking you," I added, just because I'd rather say it than have Ron get himself into more trouble.

"Kailey!" Ron groaned.

"Hey, that's better than what you were about to say," I answered with a shrug.

"Well, someone else is already taking me," Hermione said as Ron rolled his eyes. "I don't care if you don't believe me, Ron," she added hotly.

"Fine, so you can't go with Harry, how about you, Ginny?" he suggested, turning to look at her. I just shook my head and stood up.

"Have fun hashing this out, guys," I said. "I'm going to get some food from the kitchens."

"Wait!" Ron cried, suddenly excited. I stopped in my footsteps and stared at him. "Harry, why don't you just take Kailey? You both have to have partners anyway, right?"

Harry looked up at me, looking concerned and…was that hopeful?

"I can't, someone asked me already," I answered, looking down at my feet.

"He asked you?" Hermione and Ginny squealed at the same time.

I nodded with a small smile, pulling the white rose out to show them. They both squealed and giggled at the sight of it. "Just before dinner, he gave me this,"

"Who?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Harry," I replied, rolling my eyes as I headed back out the portrait.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

The hysteria over this ball had caused a sudden influx of hormonal female teenagers into my office. Some were just so excited by who was taking them that they wanted to tell everybody. Others…not so much.

"I-I don't underst-stand!" wailed poor Eloise Midgen, taking another tissue from the box I had hastily handed over to her the moment I saw her reddened eyes. I noted dully that we had both missed dinner completely. Not the best start to a weekend. "Nobody has even tr-tr-tried to ask m-me!"

"Oh, Eloise, don't lose hope just yet. Have you tried just asking one of them yourself?"

"N-no," she sniffled. "Do you think th-that would w-work?"

I smiled gently. "It would certainly work better than just sitting around waiting for some man to take a hint. They are very dense creatures,"

I felt more like a guidance counselor than a tutor. Once I had gotten Eloise calmed down I offered her a smaller package of tissues and told her to come by any time. She shuffled out of the room and I let out a long blow of air, slumping back into my seat. A quiet knock sounded on my door and I sat up, getting out a fresh tissue box, just in case.

"Come in," I called once I had prepared myself. "Oh, Harry," I sighed, leaning back into my seat once again. "How are you?"

"Better than you, I guess," he said with the barest of grins. "How many girls have needed tissues?" he asked, glancing at the two boxes on my desk.

"More than I can keep track of," I answered with a laugh. "I guess they just don't know who else to turn to,"

"I'd bet they don't fancy having that sort of discussion with McGonagall," Harry replied, fiddling with the sleeve of his cloak.

"I suppose not," I sighed, shaking my head. "But you seem a little put off yourself, what's wrong?"

"I need…" he paused and gulped. "Girl advice," he admitted in a whisper.

I smiled. "Sirius not up for it?" I guessed.

"Er, well…I couldn't find him," he answered, ducking his head. I just laughed.

"Relax, Harry, I know you'd rather get your advice from your hopefully soon-to-be uncle. But I can probably help you better," I winked and he grinned. "So, what's the trouble? No date yet?"

"No, I've got one, but only just barely. I'm taking Parvati Patil,"

I raised an eyebrow. "Parvati? I didn't think you two talked…" I trailed off at the sudden look of depression on his face.

"We don't I just…couldn't find anyone else,"

"Not even Kailey?" I asked in a whisper. I would have to tell Sirius and Severus that our worst fears were confirmed if Harry wasn't taking her. They both had spent weeks glaring at any and all boys who looked as though they were about to go up to her. They always glanced at the staff table first and were met with the ugliest of looks. I'd counted twelve, though Severus swore it was twenty and Sirius that it was thirty.

He shook his head. "She was asked earlier…before dinner,"

"Oh well, you should've acted quicker than that, Harry," I said knowingly. He just nodded his head. "Do you know who she's going with?"

"She wouldn't say but I'm sure it's that French guy," his voice grew just slightly more frustrated. "I mean, no one else from Gryffindor would ask her, they all think we're secretly together and that's spread to most of the other students from Hogwarts. She doesn't even give any foreigners a second glance accept that one kid,"

"Does she know that all the boys think you two are together?" I asked, one eyebrow arched.

He ducked his head again. "I don't think so,"

"And you don't correct them?" I guessed, holding in a laugh. He didn't reply and I couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped my mouth. "If you're that protective and jealous—"

"I'm not jealous!"

"—then maybe you shouldn't've used her as a last resort," I finished as though he hadn't interrupted. "And yes, Harry, you are very jealous,"

"Okay, fine, maybe I am a little jealous. That doesn't mean I like her like her," he grumbled.

"Sure, Harry, fine, but who did you ask before her?"

He hesitated. "Cho Chang,"

"Do you like her like her?" I asked.

"I think I do…" he mumbled.

"Do you know anything about her?"

He scoffed. "She's really pretty and she's an amazing flyer. She's also really nice and popular too,"

"Ever talked to her save for your asking her to the ball?" I pressed.

He didn't respond at first. "I guess not," he admitted. "But I'm still jealous of Cedric for taking her,"

"I'd wager that's only because you were let down. You still would have been jealous of Kailey going with the French boy regardless of what Cho said." I said, still smiling a bit to myself even though he shook his head in denial. "Alright then, why are you friends with Kailey?"

He rolled his eyes at me this time. "She's my best friend. We do everything together, including the tournament. She's always been there for me even when I'm mad at her and she knows what to say when I'm upset. She was the very first friend I ever made from this world and she always does her best to protect us all from the future. She's brave and smart and funny, even if she's angry. Why wouldn't I be friends with her?" he finished with a question, tilting his head to the side.

"Why indeed," I answered with a pleasant smile.

He frowned before a look of confusion crossed his face. I continued to smile pleasantly at him until understanding dawned and then abruptly shifted to horror. "Oh no,"

"Oh yes,"

"No. I can't actually…_like_ _her_ like her!" he grabbed his head as his green eyes pierced mine. I actually couldn't contain my laughter this time. "Stop! This isn't funny! I'm having an epiphany over her and you're laughing at me!"

"Sorry," I tried to say, but I'm not sure it came out all the way as I laughed. I finally calmed myself down when he glared at me. I cleared my throat. "So…are you still going to come to me for girl advice?"

"Never again," he replied dramatically and I laughed again. "But, honestly, what do I do about this French bloke? I don't trust him at all, and she trusts him far too much," he insisted.

I frowned and drummed my fingers on my desk thoughtfully, putting my feet up a second later and leaning back. "I'd suggest a prank but I'm afraid I'd get in a spot of trouble with Dumbles…Though you could just keep an eye out for her. Casual, not spying directly…"

"Spying indirectly?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck.

I shrugged. "Sure, Sirius and Severus will both keep look out as well. I'm sure Dumbles wouldn't mind," _He_ _certainly enjoys conspiring against Sirius and I…_ "Fred and George would likely be assets too,"

"And I could use the Marauder's Map," he added excitedly.

"You could," I answered evenly. "But don't go too far overboard with this, Harry, she's a pretty descent judge of character, I doubt she'd put herself in danger."

"He's a strange teenage boy from a different country that she has complete trust in. How much more danger exists?"

As the term drew to a close and the snow continued to fall I finally found myself in a very empty office. Even the tissues that had been overflowing from the wastebasket had diminished into nothing. Eloise had returned the following Tuesday to report that she now had a partner for the ball before she ducked out of the office again. Sirius returned to our quarters late one evening, reporting a prank he had had to dismember personally. Apparently 'someone' had put a jinx on the windows so that whenever a Slytherin walked by a sharp, icy, snowball would fly right into their head. Seven of them had ended up in the Hospital Wing and it had taken Sirius half the night to track down the windows mostly because Severus had been so unwilling to help.

"It felt so…_wrong_, taking apart a prank," he shook his head in disgust. "And it was even worse because I couldn't just let the snowballs hit Severus in the head. I really did want them to, just so he would stop his groaning about Kailey's partner for the Yule Ball,"

As predictable, Severus had been furious upon realizing Harry and Kailey did like each other. He'd been even more furious when he found out that they weren't going together and that she was going to the ball with a stranger. I wasn't sure if they were all just being paranoid or if I wasn't paranoid enough.

"Whatever brings home the bacon, love," I replied with a yawn, leaning into his shoulder as we stared at the dying flames.

"Tired again?" he asked quietly as I nodded sleepily. "Are you not sleeping well anymore?" he wondered, feeling my forehead with the back of his hand.

"No I am, I'm just…tired," I finished with a slight shrug.

"Are you feeling anything else?" he asked worriedly.

"Uh-uh," I murmured, snuggling closer to him on the couch as he wrapped his arm around me. "I did miss this, though,"

"So did I," he replied, kissing the top of my head before taking a strand of my hair and twirling it in his fingers. "How do you think things are holding up at home?"

"No worse than usual, I'm sure," I answered. "I just wish there was more we could do here," I added, allowing some frustration to creep into my voice. The entire search for the diadem had come up cold just because of Moody's snooping. It was highly frustrating.

"As if we'd have time for anything else right now," Sirius mumbled, his tone joking somewhat just to calm me down. It worked, but that didn't help with the frustration I was still feeling. "Has Harry done a damn thing with that egg yet or is he under the impression that Kailey will just tell him what it is?"

"I think he's trying to pretend it doesn't exist at the moment. He's pretty flustered about the ball at the moment," I said, yawning hugely at the end. The fire had died down to orangey red embers and it was making me even drowsier, despite the slight chill that was caused by the winter night.

"It's his own fault for not realizing he wanted to ask her until it was too late," Sirius replied, shaking his head. I nodded in agreement. "I think it's time you got to bed," he added.

"I'm too comfortable,"

He snorted, shifting around until he was lifting me in his arms, just like he used to when I would fall asleep on the couch in the common room. He gently lowered me on my bed after moving the sheets out of the way before tucking me in. I smirked up at him.

"Who would have guessed that they glued the beds to the floor?" I asked, allowing equal amounts of humor and annoyance to enter my tone.

"I should have. It's got Dumbledore's signature all over it," he answered, rolling his eyes.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

As the ball drew closer, Leon seemed to grow more comfortable with holding my hand or putting an arm around my shoulder. Or should I say that I grew more comfortable with it? I still would shrug out from under his arm whenever we were anywhere near my dad or Sirius. Harry and the twins had made it their mission to occupy me whenever possible, which had become so often that I was beginning to suspect the involvement of a certain map. Hermione helped me as best she could, at least when she wasn't in the furthest corner of the library with Krum. It was frustrating beyond belief.

"What iz ze matter, mademoiselle?" Leon asked me one night after dinner as we headed towards the castle doors to walk by the lake. I hadn't let him put his arm around my shoulder because we were still inside.

"Nothing, I'd just like it very much if the school Auror didn't kill you," I replied with a smile. "He won't admit it, but I think he's grown a little too protective," Sirius had been staring daggers at Leon for the last half hour of dinner.

"I do not mind," Leon shrugged, wrapping his arm around me now that we were outside, walking in the snow. I appreciated the warmth. "It means zat you are well loved, nothing could be more important,"

"Love can be shown in other ways," I disagreed. "Like maybe trusting the choices I make,"

"Ma chère, you are worrying much more zan you need to," he said as we finally reached the lake, walking around the frozen water in a well worn path that many students seemed to have begun travelling during the season, and I was not just talking about the Durmstrang students.

"If you say so," I sighed, not minding as much as usual that he pulled me closer to him. But maybe that was just because it was cold out.

Christmas morning finally rolled around to the tune of giggling girls. I suppose I would've laughed too, had I not been the one to roll out of bed with an unpleasant thump. The three of them laughed at me as I rubbed the base of my head, just thankful that if I did bruise it would not be on my face. We opened our presents and I was almost surprised to see one from Snape waiting for me.

I opened it to find it was a pair of silver earrings that slung through my ears, dangling in both the front and back. They would match my dress and necklace perfectly. I wondered briefly if Keena had helped him. I was also surprised to find a gift from Leon; it was another rose, however this one was crystalline. I smiled as the other girls cooed at the sight of it. I placed it next to the white one on my nightstand.

I headed down to the common room with Hermione after we had gotten dressed, both of us choosing to simply pull our hair back until it was time to get ready for the ball. Though, maybe 'simply' was not the best way to describe how we managed to get Hermione's hair through the elastic. We greeted the boys and went outside in order to have a humongous snowball fight with half the house in the freshly fallen snow.

It was an epic war. The battles were long, interrupted only by breakfast and the ridiculously filling lunch, the wind was bitter and the snow had a bite to it. I was sopping wet and freezing in my heavy duty cloak and my gloves were soaked through but I still had not hit the one target I was aiming for and he had yet to hit me. The rest of the group watched with bated breath at five as Harry and I faced off.

He had all the reflexes, but I was the one with the amazing aim. While he had been able to dodge all of my throws, his had been simply too, well, god awful to come anywhere near me. It was a good thing he was a seeker and not a chaser. I stood, perfecting the one ball of snow in my freezing hands, waiting for him to be distracted by something. I guess he was waiting for the same thing as we stared one another down. Some of the girls began leaving as we continued our silent battle. Then it happened. Parvati and Lavender decided to go back up to the dorm.

"I'll see you soon, Harry," Parvati called and Harry glanced at her to nod.

That glance proved fatal.

I launched my snowball, scooping up more snow and compacting it together in one swift motion as he tripped out of the way of the first one, following it with his eyes and watching it land where he had been moments before. He didn't notice the second one as it whistled straight into the side of his turned head, knocking his glasses askew.

"Victory!" the twins shouted together as the group that was now all boys with the exception of me and Hermione cheered.

Hermione just shook her head at their antics as she caught my eye and jerked her head towards the castle. I nodded and waved good-bye to the boys as we went to get ready for the ball.

**There's the end, and poor Harry. Well, sort of. I hope you enjoyed it and will be back in the brief amount of time I'm hoping to take with posting the Yule Ball (aka chapter 19). Review? Please? Thanks! **

**:-D**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen: The Yule Ball

**Even though it's Christmas in July, I still do not own this. **

**This was my fastest update EVER. Mostly cuz I've been thinking about this chapter for a wicked long time! This one is mainly Kailey's POV, I hope you don't like it. I hope you love it! Read on, readers! Read on!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Hermione asked, wringing her hands in her lap as I fiddled with her hair. We had finally managed to straighten it to a tamable point and I was now following instructions from one of Lavender's magazines in order to put her hair into an intricate up-do.

"It will work just fine, stop worrying," I said as I shifted her hair into my left hand so that I could grab the hairspray. Again. "I bet you this is just muggle stuff they sold in a wizarding store—it hardly works," I grumbled.

"So it won't work?"

"Hermione, stop it. Once I get it all up right I'll just put on the spell and your hair will stay put for as long as necessary," I said, sticking more pins into her hair.

Ten minutes more of spraying and pinning and I was finally finished with her hair. It was piled gracefully in a swirl-like bun in the back of her head. I left a strand that had not cooperated to trail down her neck. I would curl it after she put on her dress and make-up. We switched seats and she began on my hair.

When she had finished, she held up a mirror for me to see. She had straightened it first to make it cooperate perfectly before taking her wand and murmuring an incantation from the magazine so that my hair would separate in order for her to put half of it up. She had twisted the sides and pinned the twists to my head with sleek silver pins in the center of the back of my head. My part was off center to make the twists more dramatic. There was a larger pin in between the two silver ones with a large, fake ruby that clipped the hair in place. Finally, she curled my hair enough to make it fall in waves down my back down to my waist.

We turned and faced each other, smiling before we proceeded to put our gowns on and apply our make-up. Her dress was, like all dress robes, floor-length. It was periwinkle blue and hugged her torso in a V-neck with slender straps before flowing out in gentle waves as it reached down from her hips. She was wearing golden sandals with inch-high heels on her feet, her toes painted to match the French tip that Parvati had given her. On her neck she wore a gold chain with a deep blue sapphire in a tear-shape that rested on her neck. She looked gorgeous.

"Hermione, you're beautiful," Parvati said, glancing at her as Lavender finished with her hair in the mirror next to us as I curled the final strand of her hair and placed it over her shoulder before spraying it.

"Thanks, Parvati, so are you," she grinned, blushing.

"Alright, Mione, I've finished with you," I grinned, flicking my wand at her hair for a final time.

"Okay, let me just fix your hair a little," she said, standing up and motioning for me to sit next to Lavender, who had literally just replaced Parvati.

I sat down and stared at my reflection. My gown was sleeveless and royal purple, matching both my skin tone and my necklace, the ruby shining out against my throat. It was a mermaid style dress, though the two layers of fabric split apart a little in the skirt. The top layer was a softer purple and was sheer while the bottom layer of it was the deep royal purple that was more prominent in the bodice and it felt like silk, though I wasn't sure if it was. I wore silver heels, sandals like Hermione's, though mine had a silver ribbon that tied around my ankles, further securing the shoes to my feet.

I glanced at Lavender's reflection and smiled. "Great minds think alike," I said, referring to her lilac and lavender colored dress. She grinned in reply as Hermione and Parvati proclaimed that we were both finished.

"We'd better go, the entrance hall is going to be a zoo," I said to Hermione as we descended the stairs, leaving Parvati in her very bright pink gown waiting with Lavender for their dates.

"Oh my goodness," Hermione muttered as we approached the hall. There was already a shocking number of students milling around, though it was very clear that these were either inter-house or inter-school pairings as they searched for one another. "Let's just try and see if we can't find them from up here," she suggested at the top of the steps.

I shook my head. "I told Leon I'd meet him just outside the doors. Let's just go together, he'll know if Krum's come in yet or not,"

She glanced at the students nervously as heads began turning our way and staring. "What are they all looking at?"

"Probably you, Hermione," I grinned. "Parvati told you, you're beautiful,"

She blushed again but we finally made it to the doors. We went outside into the chilly air, though it was clear that there was some sort of heating spell. The courtyard near the base of the steps had been transformed into a sort of wonderland. The bushes were green underneath a sheen of ice that hadn't been present mere hours ago and fairies were gently floating around these as well as the ice sculptures of unicorns and swans along with the fountains that littered the area. Just at the base of the steps, pacing, was Leon. He looked up and grinned when he spotted us, coming up the stairs to greet us.

"You both look stunning," he said, smiling first at Hermione and then at me, lifting my hand for the customary kiss. He did not let go of my hand, but held onto it, dropping our hands to our sides. "I 'ave been waiting for you, ma chère,"

"I'm sorry," I replied. "I didn't quite realize how much time it would take to get ready,"

"Eet iz all well," he answered, smiling again. He was wearing dark green dress robes, making his eyes appear a brighter blue. I noticed he was wearing a purple rose, the color of my dress, pinned above his heart. "I do 'ave something for you, though,"

I smiled as he pulled out a corsage made of purple and silver flowers. He placed it onto my left hand and smiled. "Thank you, Leon, and for your other gift as well,"

He smiled. "I am glad you enjoy ze flowers," Then he turned to Hermione. "Iz Viktor Krum ze one who iz to be graced with your presence zis night?"

"Yes, have you seen him yet?" she asked, clearly glad that he wasn't offended by her being there.

"Non, but you are of course welcome to wait with us," he said, offering her his other arm and leading us towards the doors. I looked over and caught sight of a group of people walking over from the ship.

"Wait, I think that must be them," I said, holding Leon and Hermione back from entering.

A figure broke away from the group a little bit, and came up the stairs to us. It was Krum. He bowed at Hermione and she gave a slight curtsey as he took her hand and kissed it. She blushed.

"I am sorry I vos late," he said, his eyes flickering to Leon with a hint of distrust. "Have you been vaiting very long, Hermy-own?"

"No, not too long, Viktor. Leon and Kailey were kind enough to wait with me," she said, gesturing to us with a smile.

"Thank you," Krum said, bowing to us.

"Not at all," Leon replied. "Come, Kailey, your beauty should not be wasted on the empty courtyard," he added, smiling at me again and leading me inside as Hermione and Krum waited for the rest of the Durmstrang party to catch up.

We filtered our way through to the doors where McGonagall was fiddling with the wreath on her hat. The rest of the schools seemed preoccupied with the students that had suddenly started pouring in from outside. She seemed to give up as we approached and smiled at us.

"You look lovely, Miss Snape," she said and I blushed again. "I should have supposed you would come over here first at any rate," she continued before calling for the other champions.

Fleur and Roger Davies were the first ones over to us, her wearing silver-gray satin and him a slack-jawed expression. I tried to contain a giggle as Leon rolled his eyes. Cedric and Cho were next and she exchanged a bemused look with a frustrated Fleur as they realized how similar the color of their dresses were. Again, I did my best not to laugh. Hermione and Krum were followed quickly by Harry and Parvati and we were quickly ushered inside the doors.

Harry stared at me and Hermione for a moment before I gave a slight cough and he got himself out of whatever problem he had been having. He settled for giving me a tight smile before looking away. I made up my mind to avoid him if that was what it took to have a good time. I would tell Hermione my plan and suggest she do the same for Ron if (or when) the need arose.

Finally the students began flowing into the hall, slowly filling up the small round tables that littered the room. The candles twinkled above us and seemed to melt into the starry sky that was outside and above us. There were many shocked expressions that greeted us before everyone was finally seated. The teachers filed in next, followed by the judges. Then it was our turn. I felt a tad bit like a first year again as McGonagall led us inside towards the table that was filled with the judges, though this time there was applause, not eerily quiet impatience for dinner to start.

Harry sat down next to Percy and I took the seat next to Parvati. Krum and Hermione ended up on the other side of Dumbledore and next to Karkaroff, though Cho sat next to Hermione. Once everyone was finally settled and small conversations began picking up (mainly about how the food was going to be delivered by the sound of it) Dumbledore lifted up his menu and said "Pork chops," directly into his plate.

I followed his example immediately, along with several others before everyone began ordering their meals. I stared at my chicken and rice for a moment, silently debating if that had been a good choice considering my outfit but quickly deciding it was worth it and began eating more carefully than I ever had before.

"Kailey, iz zat your father?" Leon asked quietly, nodding his head towards a table which was occupied by Snape, Moody, McGonagall, Sirius and Keena as well as some other teachers, Hagrid included.

"Which one?" I asked glancing up to see his expression. He looked a little amused.

"Ze one with ze…dark hair,"

I looked over and noted that Snape and Sirius had both looked down at their plates as I had looked up. Both had dark hair. Both were sitting next to one another. And I had no doubt both had just been glaring at my date. "The one next to the man with the blue eye or the one next to the woman?"

"Ze man with ze eye," he replied, sounding relieved he didn't have to further describe Snape's appearance to me.

"Yes, but we don't speak," I answered. "Not for a long time anyway,"

"Why not? You are not a good daughter to 'im?" he asked innocently, cocking his head to the side.

"I'm not so sure I'm what he was expecting," I answered. "See, I'm in Gryffindor, but my father's family were all in Slytherin,"

"Zese houses, zey matter very much?"

"Yes, it seems they do," I answered, keeping the bitterness to a minimum. Leon noticed and changed the subject quickly.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Sirius, keep your eyes on the people at this table please," I said pointedly and he and Snape both looked down just as Kailey looked over to our table.

"I wouldn't have to watch her so closely if you had made certain she bought an appropriate dress!" he hissed in reply. Snape looked as though he were inclined to agree but said nothing purely for appearances sake.

Now I looked up at her dress. Then I looked down at mine. "Her dress is no more revealing than mine," I said in reply. My own gown was sleeveless as well and was a deep scarlet that matched the golden design that patterned the hem as well as around the middle of the dress where the skirt met the bodice. I wore a large ruby pendant on a gold chain that had belonged to Mrs. Potter along with a pair of golden earrings that nearly brushed my shoulders. My hair was pulled back in a curled bun with one strand of curled hair resting on the side of my face.

"You are not fourteen," Sirius informed me, sounding annoyed. "You're thirty-four,"

"Ack, don't say that number. I'm twenty-nine." I mumbled, stabbing a piece of my baked ziti with more force than really necessary.

I felt Sirius' arm sliding around my waist followed by a kiss on the cheek. "You are the most gorgeous thirty-four year old I've ever met," he whispered, making me smile. I turned and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before returning to my meal.

"Please, for the love of Merlin, I do not think I can handle watching any more hormonal teenagers tonight," Snape growled, shaking his head in distaste.

"You know the solution for that, Severus, don't you?" Sirius asked turning to face Snape, who looked rather disgusted.

"What would that be, Black?" he sneered.

"Don't watch," he replied, winking.

The rest of the table groaned.

Once all food had been consumed, Dumbledore asked that everyone stand up. We all did so and he gave a sweeping wave with his wand and the tables glided to the sides of the hall, leaving plenty of room on the dance floor. A stage that I had barely noticed as we had entered was at one side of the room and a drum set and several other instruments were all set in place as the Weird Sisters made their way up. I smiled in excitement and traded a glance with Sirius before looking to watch the champions and their partners as they entered the dance floor.

I tried to contain my giggle as Harry revolved on the spot with Parvati. It was very clear who was doing the steering. I heard the sound of a flash go off and was suddenly blinking away spots in surprise. I looked over to see Colin Creevey grinning at me and Sirius.

"Colin? I thought you were a third year?" I asked curiously.

"Professor Dumbledore asked me if I would take photographs of the night. He's paying me five galleons an hour and he gave me this camera with a roll of never ending film! All I have to do is take the pictures and then send them in to him so he can give them out to the students so that their parents can see how they all looked," Colin explained excitedly.

"Huh, that sounds like a good idea," I muttered, glancing at Sirius, who was glaring at the dance floor. "What?"

"There," he said, pointing to Kailey and Leon. They were dancing.

"Okay…" I said slowly, not entirely understanding his problem.

"Look at his hand!" Sirius replied, frustrated.

I looked. One hand was holding hers and the other was resting on her waist. "Yep, those are hands, Sirius,"

He looked at me. "His hands do not belong there," he stated as though explaining the sky was blue. "Not anywhere near there,"

I rolled my eyes. "C'mon, let's see if you can still dance you old man,"

I brought him onto the dance floor and we began spinning and twirling around in time with the music. He continued staring at Kailey and her date, over spinning every now and again as I tried to stop him.

"Look, if you're not going to enjoy this then I'll find someone who will," I threatened.

He didn't respond.

I huffed before standing slightly on tip-toe and grabbing his lips with mine.

He responded. Happily.

Suddenly there was the sound of someone clearing his throat. We broke apart to see Harry glaring at us and Parvati trying not to giggle. "That was the limit," was all he said.

"Oh, Harry, you should dance with your aunt," Parvati gasped suddenly as if hit by inspiration. "It would be so cute!"

He blinked at her before looking at me, a little confused. "Er…d'you want to…?"

I laughed. "Sure, Harry, we can practice for the wedding," I winked.

"Well, if you're dancing together, I'll just go and make certain a young witch and her date are behaving," Sirius decided, inching away from us, leaving behind a very slightly saddened looking Parvati.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View:_

"I think you are right," Leon said as we revolved away from the second twin in less than a minute. "Zey are doing zair very best to keep us apart," he smirked as I shook my head.

"I am sorry about that, I don't know why they're not concerned with Ginny; she's actually related to them," I apologized. Again.

"I 'ave told you, eet iz better to know you are important to zem," he smiled, leaning down close, as though he were going to kiss my cheek.

"How is the ball so far?"

He jumped back and I glared at Sirius who stood happily next to us.

"Fine," I said curtly.

"That's nice," Sirius replied, looking at Leon. "And who might you be?"

"This is Leon," I interrupted before he could introduce himself. "He's from Beauxbatons. Leon, this is Auror Black; I stayed with him, his fiancée and Harry over the summer,"

"Eet iz a pleasure, monsieur," Leon replied, bowing his head a little.

"Why aren't you with Keena?" I asked bluntly, annoyed that he continued standing there without saying anything.

"She's dancing with Harry," he replied, gesturing across the room.

She and Harry had stopped dancing and he looked ready to go and find a seat with Parvati, whose foot was tapping along with the music. I looked back up at Sirius. "Looks like she's waiting for you," I hinted.

Without waiting for him to reply, I tugged Leon's hand and he allowed me to spin us away from Sirius, who scowled at me and shook his head once Leon's back was to him. I rolled my eyes in reply and ignored him.

"Zat was Sirius Black?" Leon asked after a minute as we continued revolving, moving closer towards the doors and farther from anyone I knew. Finally.

"Yeah, he's Harry's godfather. Keena, his fiancée, is his godmother and aunt," I answered. "They took me in because my dad…never mind," I mumbled, not wanting to get into it. It wasn't like he needed to know the cover story anyway.

"And your…mother?"

"She's a muggle and it was too expensive to fly me back and forth between the continents. She gave up custody to my dad, who then gave it up to Dumbledore, who lets me live with the other three," I explained quickly.

He nodded in understanding of that as well as the fact that the subject was to end there. We danced to several more songs, both faster and slow, before it grew hot. Many students had gone to sit at tables in order to have drinks but the line for the punch was very long and I spotted Krum in the very back of it. I glanced over to see where Ron and Harry were sitting to find Parvati had finally left them and Hermione and Ron looked as though they were about to start fighting. I could tell by the look on Harry's face.

"Are you very warm?" Leon asked, pausing as the song changed again. I nodded, blushing a little. It was very hot. "Let us zen go for a walk, ze courtyard looked very inviting," he suggested.

I nodded, thinking that fresh air sounded like a very good idea at the moment. We skirted around the dance floor and finally made our way out the front doors. I inhaled the cool air deeply, content with the chill on my skin. We walked along the pathway, our hands intertwined between us, not really finding the need to say much of anything. We would walk faster past the bushes that were moving and slower past the ones that were still full of fluttering fairies.

We ended up walking by Madame Maxime and Hagrid, both of whom were too enamored with one another to pay us any attention at all. Finally, we found a secluded bench and took a much welcomed seat. I sighed as I lifted my feet off of the ground for a moment, thinking of how much I would soak them later when I was finally able to get my shoes off. If they came off, that is.

"Kailey?" I looked up to see that Leon was sitting very, very close. Subconsciously, I scooted a little away, but he just came closer. "Truly, you are ze most beautiful one 'ere tonight,"

I smiled as my heart fluttered. I couldn't quite tell if it was because of his smile or because I was now at the end of the bench and couldn't move back any further. "Thank you," I managed to whisper as I tried to keep my heart in line.

He leaned closer and placed a soft, gentle kiss on my lips. My heart began to sprint as my eyes slid shut. He held his lips on mine for a moment before leaning away and I looked up at him. But I didn't fully understand the way he was suddenly looking at me.

"Eef you close your eyes, I 'ave one more thing to give to you," he murmured in my ear.

I looked at him uncertainly before shutting my eyes. I felt his lips on mine again, but they were harder as he brought a hand to the base of my head, leaning into me. I gripped the back of the bench for support as he continued to move closer to me so that our bodies were crushing together. I tried to pull away from the harsh grip he held against my neck when I felt his other hand gliding up my back and stopping on the zipper of my dress.

I pushed away from him again, not caring if I were to go tumbling to the ground, just wanting him to let go of the zipper. I couldn't move away and I felt him give a tug against it and I was both shocked and ecstatic that it didn't budge against his grip. He gave another, stronger tug and that's when I realized that pushing him away wasn't working. Instead, I lifted my hand and opened my eyes to watch as I slapped him across the face and away from me.

He hissed in pain and stopped touching the zipper and I shoved against him one last time to get his hand out from behind my head. I hissed as I felt his fingernails dragged across my neck before I was released. I stood up, glaring down at him.

"Don't you dare come near me ever again," I growled doing my very best impersonation of Snape, though I didn't even feel pleasure at seeing him cower under my glare.

I began striding away from him when I felt his hand on my shoulder.

He spun me around and held onto both shoulders tightly. "'Ow dare you walk away from _me_," he hissed. "You are lucky zat I even chose to look at you, you ugly leetle muddy 'alf-blood!"

I gasped both at his insult and at his grip. "Let me go, you spineless ogre!" I screamed out, hoping we were close enough that Hagrid and Madame Maxime could hear me. I felt hot tears rising in my eyes when his grip only tightened.

He shook me roughly, ordering me to be quiet before he tried to kiss me again when he suddenly released me, as though he had been stung. As soon as he let go, I raised my hand again and punched him this time. I heard and felt the crack of his jaw bone against my hand and I wheeled around to see a furious Madame Maxime aiming her wand at her pupil, Hagrid looking ready to throttle him behind her. I sprinted to him and buried myself in his arms as the tears tried to spill over. I did not want to cry in front of that prick. I would not give him that satisfaction.

I couldn't understand a word Madame Maxime said as she shrieked at him in French as he glared at the ground. She grabbed him by the upper arm and escorted him by us. As they walked by I took off the flowers he had given me and dropped them on the ground, allowing Hagrid to step on them. I ignored the beetle that was buzzing around the half-giantess' head, following her back to the castle.

"Kailey, are yeh alrigh'?" Hagrid asked, holding my arms gently and looking me over. "He didn' do nothin' before me an' Olympe got there, did 'e?"

I took a shuddering breath and shook my head. "Lucky for me, the zipper on my dress seems to be broken," I answered in a whisper, afraid that talking normally would allow my tears to spill over. I told myself I could cry later, but I refused to ruin the night.

Hagrid growled out an oath under his breath before pulling me into a hug. Once I could breathe again, he took me back up to the castle. On the way, we ran into Ron and Harry, both of whom looked more than a little miffed about something.

"We saw Madame Maxime towing that git away somewhere with Professor Dumbledore," Harry explained, giving me a look that stated I had some explaining to do. "You're staying with us the rest of the night," he informed me, a little stubbornly to be honest.

I wanted to laugh but gave a shaky sigh instead. "Okay, but how does my face look? And don't give me that whole 'you look fine' charade. Is it red and blotchy or is any make-up running?" my voice finally evened out on the last question.

"Your eyes are a bit red," Ron informed me while Harry rolled his eyes. "The rest looks fine to me," he finished with a shrug.

"I'll just let the two of yeh take care o' her," Hagrid said as we entered the Great Hall before he headed in the direction of Dumbledore's office. Everyone was still dancing and no one seemed to notice as we entered.

Harry hooked his arm with mine and led me and Ron over to an empty table. The three of us sat down and I sighed again, glad to be sitting between the two of them. I looked up and they were both staring at me expectantly.

"Can this just wait until tomorrow? I don't want the rest of the night ruined," I requested, gesturing to the dance floor.

"Promise you'll tell us?" Harry pressed, looking concerned and serious at the same time.

"Yes, of course," I answered.

"Tell them what?" I looked up to see the twins standing in front of our table, arms crossed over their chests. I glanced at the punch line where their dates were waiting for them.

"Oh, wait George, I think I might know," Fred said, tapping his chin.

"I'd wager I've got the same idea Fred," George replied, frowning at me.

"Could it possibly have something to do—"

"—with a certain missing French prick?"

"And maybe about how you disappeared from the dance?"

"And how your eyes are red?"

"Yes, yes and yes. Now, please, go back to your dates. You can say 'I told you so' when she's feeling better," Ron ordered giving the twins a look as I sat and stared at my lap.

"Kailey?"

"Hey, either of you want to go and dance with me?" I asked looking up, completely ignoring whoever had said my name.

They exchanged looks before looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"I could just dance with both of you if you want. I just don't want to sit here the whole night, its boring. And I don't want to ask anybody…I'd rather just dance with one of you," I explained, my face turning redder and redder with every word. Neither of them moved. I narrowed my eyes. "Fine, Ron, you haven't danced yet, correct?"

"Well, no but I'm no good at—"

"Don't care, let's go," I said, standing up and grabbing his hand, leading him to the dance floor. I heard Harry laughing behind us and I looked up to see Ron's slightly horrified expression. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you sure you want to dance with me? I've never danced before," his ears were turning red.

"It's easy, you just spin in circles," I said, taking one hand in mine and placing the other on my waist and began to spin slowly, not bothering to match the tempo. "See? Easy,"

"I guess so," he replied, still not entirely sure of his footing.

"So, had you and Harry gone out to get away from Percy yet?" I asked casually.

"Yeah, your dad and Karkaroff were arguing about something—did you know they're on first name basis?" he asked. When I nodded he continued. "Course you did, but anyway, we were about to keep walking when Maxime came by us, yelling at that bloke in French, though it didn't exactly sound fancy,"

I smiled. "Was he utterly mortified?"

"Yeah, holding his jaw in his hands and everything,"

I grinned wider. "I punched him," I stated proudly. "And he deserved it too, the stupid gittish hippogriff-kissing freak-o-zoid,"

"Hippogriff-kissing?" Ron asked, smirking at me before shaking his head. "I need to teach you some better names than those," we both laughed at that as I nodded thoughtfully.

"Thanks for calling off Fred and George, by the way," I said once we had calmed down a bit. "And you should probably lay off Hermione," I added in the same breath. He opened his mouth to argue but I beat him to it. "Look, I know you're jealous. Don't bother denying it. Just let it go, they're not going to do anything, they just want to have a good time tonight,"

He gave an aggravated sounding groan and glanced over my shoulder. As we spun, I spotted Krum and Hermione dancing a little ways away. "I dunno what's wrong with her, he's your competitor," he said as though informing me of who Krum was.

"Only when we're at a task, the rest of the time he seems like a nice enough guy," I answered with a shrug. "He's not too forward and he's probably protective,"

"How do you know?" he accused. I just fixed him with an I-know-the-future-you-twit look. He rolled his eyes as I rolled mine.

The song came to a close and we went back over to the table where Harry was being harassed by Colin Creevey and his camera.

"Colin, you've taken plenty of pictures of me," Harry said finally, putting his hand on top of the camera. "Go take some of somebody else,"

Colin frowned but nodded and made his way out to the dance floor where you could see periodic flashing from the bulb on the camera. I laughed along with Ron while Harry glared at the both of us.

"It's not funny," he muttered.

"Sure it's not," I agreed sarcastically. "C'mon, your turn for a dance," I said before he could counter. He rolled his eyes, but stood up without me needing to force him to. We went out onto the dance floor and were quickly blinded by a flash from Colin's camera.

"Thanks Harry!" he chirped before zooming away. Literally, almost. That kid was fast.

"Are you feeling better?" Harry asked as we slowly revolved on the spot. It was a slow song this time.

"Yeah, I am, but not well enough to talk about him," I answered, moving to hide my face in his chest. "He's just a jerk,"

"I'm sorry the ball was ruined," he replied sincerely.

I moved away from him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "The night's not over yet, Mr. Potter,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"See, she's back and she's with Ron and Harry," I said calmly as Sirius paced back and forth next to our table. As soon as he had realized she had left the room he'd become a nervous wreck until I pointed out to him that Hagrid and Snape were both outside. He had continued dancing with me until Dumbledore had come over to us to ask us to make sure nothing happened while he was gone. We'd watched as he had gone into the hall to meet Madame Maxime and Kailey's date. Kailey had not been with them.

"I knew it, I knew something would happen to her. I should've forbid it," he ground out as he finally sat down, not looking away from where the trio sat down.

I smiled a little at how protective he was being. "Sirius, she's fine,"

"How do we know that that little git didn't try something on her?" he accused suddenly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Even if he did try, it wouldn't've worked. I placed a sticking charm on her dress as well as Hermione's the moment I laid eyes on them," I said, patting him on the chest where his wand lay hidden next to mine.

He smiled at me. "And that is just another reason I've fallen for you time and time again," he kissed me on the cheek.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I kept switching partners with Ron and Harry the rest of the night, though we did occasionally sit out for a song if it was too fast or if my feet were too tired. I would definitely be soaking my feet before bed. The Weird Sisters announced the last song would be playing, though many couples were too tired to carry on. Ron told Harry and me that he'd meet us in the common room and left us to dance the last song together. I caught the tall end of a glance between the two but decided it was too late to try and figure anything out.

"Harry?" I asked as the song trailed on.

"Yeah?"

"What are the chances that you'll carry me up to the tower?" I asked, dead serious.

He laughed.

"That bad, huh?"

"Basically," he answered.

I groaned and leaned against him, trying to get some of the pressure off of my heels. "Who needs Unforgivables when you've got heels?"

He laughed again. "If your feet hurt that bad we could just leave," he offered.

I sighed. "No, I'm too lazy for that," Not to mention how comfortable I was leaning against him. I'd feel like a twit saying that out loud though.

The final notes were played too short of a time later and we all applauded before making our way through the doors. Hermione and Krum said goodnight just ahead of us before she headed up the stairs. But he headed straight towards us.

"I noticed that you are not vith your original partner," Krum stated, looking between the two of us. "I vould just like to tell you that if you need any sort of help, do not hesitate. You are a friend of Herm-own-ninny and therefore a friend vith me," he said, trying to pronounce her name carefully.

"Thanks, Viktor, I appreciate that, but I think I already broke his jaw," I answered with a small smile. "But if you like, I can try to help you say her name. I know she'd like it,"

He grinned. "I vould be honored," he said before bowing. He gave Harry a nod and headed towards the doors to head back to his ship.

"Nice bloke," Harry said once he was gone. "Ron's going to have a fit,"

"Yeah, he is," I replied, shaking my head. "Honestly, though, he should've asked her first, Merlin knows how jealous he gets,"

He didn't reply aloud, just sort of nodded a bit, clearing his throat as we headed up the stairs.

"Harry! Kailey!"

"Merlin, now what," I mumbled as my left foot throbbed in a somewhat threatening manner. We turned to see Cedric running up the stairs to us.

"I owe you one for the dragons," Cedric said quietly. "So, your egg, does it wail when you open it?"

"Yeah," Harry answered, a bit stiffly.

"Well, you should take a bath, maybe use that room and make a pool," he said, glancing down at Cho before looking back at us. "Take the egg with you,"

"What?" Harry asked, sounding alarmed and glancing at me before looking back at Cedric.

"You know what, use the Prefect's bathroom, fourth door to the left of the statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor. The password is 'pine fresh'," he said quickly, looking to make sure no one was walking by us too close.

"Alright, thanks," I said. "Have a good night," I turned to walk away as he nodded at us.

"Er, Kailey, you are aware of what he just told us to do, aren't you?" Harry asked, climbing up the stairs next to me. "He told us to take a bath," he added when I didn't respond.

"He never said we couldn't wear bathing suits, Harry, get your head out of the gutter," I answered, rolling my eyes at him. "However, priority number one at the moment is getting my feet back down to a normal shoe size,"

"I think you're exaggerating," he mumbled.

"Fine, you wear the heels next time," I challenged as we neared the portrait.

"Next time?" he sounded worried.

I rolled my eyes. "Just an expression,"

I laughed aloud when he sighed in relief. "Well, did you at least have a decent time at the end?" he asked.

"Very much so," I answered looking up at him with a smile. He returned it, but suddenly I felt like he was much too close. I could feel his breath on my face. I took a step away as we neared the portrait. Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell that his face fell.

**Yep, that's the end. And I'm pretty sure I answered ****live2luv****'s question within the chapter. So, good? Bad? Obscenely amazingly fantastical? Well, lemme know cuz next is number 20!**

**:-D**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: Intentions and Insults

**No. Not mine. Never was. Never will be. **

**I hope you enjoy it and thanks so much for the reviews!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

The ball ended with just enough drama that I just knew I was going to be in need of more tissues come the return of term. I had zero intention of entering that office until that point in time. I had been trying to come up with believable excuses to use until a sudden wave of nausea hit me just as Sirius and I entered our quarters at quarter to one in the morning.

I sprinted to the bathroom leaving a very confused Sirius standing in the doorway and found myself facing dinner a second time. I was most displeased. Lucky for me, my dress robes managed to stay clear of any troubling residue and Sirius had made it to me in time to pull the one loose curl away from my face. When I was finished, I groaned and leaned into him for support as his hand flew to my forehead to feel for a non-existent temperature.

"C'mon, let's get you ready for bed," he murmured, clearly worried. "Did anything taste odd or strange at dinner?"

"No, everything was perfect, as usual," I muttered, ignoring the taste in my mouth for the moment because I didn't want to risk ruining my dress or Mrs. Potter's pendant.

Once I was ready for bed I went to wash my mouth out only to find myself at the porcelain again. Sirius sprinted to my side and pulled my hair back away from my face as I gripped the rims of the toilet for support. He rubbed soothing circles on my back until I was finally sure there was nothing left.

"Apparently everything was not perfect," he corrected me, helping me up so I could wash my mouth out. "I'm going to let Dumbles know that I can't take my shift and neither can you; I don't want to leave you here by yourself."

I just nodded numbly and didn't refuse when he lifted me up to carry me to bed. He set me down and summoned a pail, vanishing what little there was inside of it so that I wouldn't have to race to the bathroom again. I sighed against my pillow dejectedly.

"I'll be right back," he whispered, kissing the side of my head before heading out the door.

So much for a happy ending to our first real Christmas in thirteen years.

He returned less than ten minutes later, accompanied (to my complete and utter horror) by Madame Pomfrey. I looked at her in shock before turning to glare at him. "Traitor," I accused.

"Calm down, Professor Potter, I will not require you to come up to the Hospital Wing unless I find something wrong with you," she informed me with a roll of her eyes.

"Wrong by your standards or mine?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"How about by my standards?" Sirius suggested. We both looked at him with raised eyebrows. "It was just a thought," he defended, putting his hands up.

"Just allow me to run a few analysis spells and I'll be on my way," she requested and I rolled my eyes. I hated it when healers waved their wands over you; they all hummed and clucked over the different colors that the spells turned, not once explaining what they meant. It was annoying.

She did her little spells and incantations and found absolutely nothing wrong with me.

"There is no way that there is nothing wrong with her," Sirius disagreed, shaking his head. "She's vomited two—"

Without warning, I lurched up in the bed and leaned over to the pail. I suppose I wasn't as empty as I had thought. Sirius pulled my hair back again and Madame Pomfrey got the covers away from the edge of the bed.

"—three times, all within the hour," Sirius finished, sitting on the bed next to me so that I could lean into his shoulder as he rubbed my back.

She huffed a little, vanishing the contents of the pail with a quick flick of her wand before she paced for several minutes. I didn't care; I just wanted to go to sleep. Finally she stopped in her tracks before looking between the two of us and then lowering her eyes to my ring.

"I've thought of one more test I can try,"

She waved her wand and her brow furrowed.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

We all woke up late the next morning and made our way slowly down to the Great Hall around eleven thirty, hoping for an early lunch. Instead we were treated to a very late breakfast, finding that more than half of the three schools combined had overslept. Once we had eaten our fill, the four of us returned to the common room, followed closely by Fred and George who sandwiched me between them and carried me over to the fireplace where they sat me down on the most comfortable arm chair in the room. I frowned up at them as Harry, Ron and Hermione scurried in behind them, all taking seats near the fire.

"What's going on and why are you both looking at me like that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the expectant look on their faces.

"We need to know how much damage we need to do on this absolutely disgusting," George began, seething in a manner I had never seen.

"Despicable,"

"Idiotic,"

"Git so that nothing goes unpunished," Fred finished, just as heatedly.

I gulped. "I dunno if there's anything you _can_ do," I replied and Ron and Harry leaned forward in what seemed to be anticipation and horror. Hermione didn't move, but only because she was glaring at the fire with her arms folded over her chest; I had already told her what had happened last night after she had awoken me from a frightening nightmare.

"We'll be the judge of that," was the reply I received, though it was from Ron, not the twins.

"No, seriously, I don't know if you can get to him; I think Maxime sent him straight back to France last night." I answered, shaking my head. "At least, that was the gist of her tone of voice I think,"

"Where there's a wand,"

"There's a way,"

I sighed. "Look, it's sort of embarrassing and I don't want to talk about it," I looked down at my feet, blushing as I remembered how I hadn't been able to really stop him on my own. It made me feel weak and vulnerable.

"Kailey," I jumped backward into the chair when Fred took a hold of my shoulders. He let go of me immediately as he took in my fearful response, a calculating expression on his face. He looked up at his twin. "We've got a lot of work to do,"

"Loads," George agreed, sparing me one last look. "Tell us when you're ready, because he is not getting away with this," and with that, the two of them headed out the portrait, heads already close together in full scheming mode.

I bit my lip and looked at the other three. Both boys were staring at me, confused, while Hermione gave me a look that was telling me to spill my guts. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I let it out slowly before I looked at them.

"I already told Hermione, and I'd rather not have to say it all again." I stated and Harry and Ron both switched their curiosity from me to her in a flash.

"Would you like me to tell them what happened?" she asked before even thinking to answer their questioning looks.

"Yes, please," I said quietly, curling up into my seat and leaning back, closing my eyes. That quickly became a mistake because as she explained what happened, I could see it happening again inside of my head. I shuddered when they gasped as she reached the part about the zipper. I was thankful that she didn't go into as much detail as I had about how relieved and terrified I was when it didn't open.

"Is that why you jumped when Fred-?" I nodded before Harry could finish his question once Hermione finished. He nodded in reply, a puzzled expression on his face before he seemed to understand why I had stepped away from him last night. My embarrassment doubled.

"You should probably go to Dumbledore and explain it all," Hermione repeated her earlier request but I shook my head again. She sighed. "You can't assume that he'll be sent away; not based off of what Maxime and Hagrid walked in on at least,"

"Why not?" Ron asked, looking away from the fire and switching between me and Hermione. "Isn't it bad enough that Maxime had to jinx him?"

She shook her head. "Kailey didn't tell Hagrid exactly the whole story, did you, Kailey?"

I ducked my head into my legs, which were still curled up on the seat with me. "It's embarrassing enough," I mumbled.

"You're just embarrassed?" Harry asked. I didn't need to see his expression to know he was angry with my excuse. "That's not a good enough reason to let him get away with it,"

"It is though," I said angrily, looking up at the three of them. "You all told me I should stay away from him and I was stupid and naive and selfish. I deluded myself into thinking I liked the way he said my name or how he'd always kiss the back of my hand. I couldn't tell the difference between the fear versus attraction. It is all highly embarrassing," my voice broke at the end of my mini rant and hot, angry tears had risen in my eyes. "And I've had enough people gossiping about me this year with how weak and stupid I am. This would just prove them right," I added, rubbing the sleeve of my sweater across my face to erase the tears.

"Kailey, no one is going to blame you for this. No one even needs to know," Harry explained, leaning forward in his seat as Ron nodded next to him and Hermione huffed.

"If you don't want to tell Dumbledore, why don't you just go and tell Sirius?" Ron offered when I shook my head again at Harry's suggestion. "He's the school Auror right? Isn't this supposed to be his job?"

I rested the side of my face against my legs and gazed at the fire. "I s'pose it is," I murmured. "But don't you think he'll get…irrationally over-protective?"

"I don't know about _over_-protective but I don't think he'll get too irrational," Hermione replied thoughtfully. "Shall we just go now?"

"Neither of them were at breakfast though," I interrupted before Ron or Harry could nod. "I don't want to bother them,"

But all three of them ignored me, standing up and heading for the portrait. I groaned and stood up to follow them down to Sirius and Keena's quarters.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I woke up the next morning feeling much better and very, very hungry. But I was also furious with Pomfrey. She had tried to check if I was pregnant. Naturally, that had not gone over too well. The mist had turned blue for a flash of a second before it dissipated, colorless. She insisted I go to St. Mungo's to check since it had turned blue for a moment. I had refused against both her and Sirius, and it seemed that I would be forced to continue to refuse Sirius.

"What will it hurt?" he asked as I sat on his bed, trying to wake him up so we could get food. I rolled my eyes. "Honestly, Keena, wouldn't you like to know why you were so sick last night?"

"It's called morning sickness if it's a pregnancy, Sirius," I replied, running my hands through his hair, attempting to untangle it. And partially to distract him. "I was sick last night,"

"Technically, it was early this morning," he pointed out, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me down next to him. I gave him a look. "Alright, so it was very early this morning, I'll grant you that. Please, won't you just let them check? Maybe Amanda could,"

"Sirius, we've only ever had sex two times. What are the chances that both times, I would get pregnant?" I asked bluntly, still giving him the same look.

"I just think it couldn't hurt," he muttered, pulling me closer and burying his face into my hair. "And it's too early to go and eat," he murmured into my hair.

"It's nearly eleven thirty," my voice was muffled by his shirt.

"Fine, then it's too early for you to try and eat a full breakfast. Call in a house-elf and have it bring you something small," he returned, kissing the top of my head. "Because I am not getting out of this bed,"

"You are if you expect food, Sirius," I informed him, slipping out from under his arms and heading into the living room, calling a house-elf as I went.

He threatened to call Madame Pomfrey down if I didn't wait to see if I could hold down my food before really eating something. My stomach growled in protest and I leaned into him as he ate his delicious-smelling pancakes and bacon on the couch. I inhaled deeply before glancing up at him to see him smirking down at me.

"You can get your own in a few minutes; be patient," he said, poking my nose with his syrupy finger.

I huffed and went into our room to get showered and changed. Just as I came out, he went sprinting by me, telling me to get the door. I jumped as the door to our bedroom slammed shut and heard a knock from the other side of the room.

I opened the door to find Harry, Ron, Hermione and Kailey assembled, all looking uncomfortable, so I just stepped aside and gestured for them to enter. The living room still smelled like breakfast, making my stomach rumble a little, but I ignored it in favor of finding out what the problem was.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, taking a seat next to Ron and Hermione on the couch while Kailey took the single-seater armchair. I sat down in the loveseat, watching as Kailey curled up into a ball after removing her shoes.

"He's just dashed into the bedroom to change. He must've heard you knocking before I did," I added, glancing at Harry with a questioning look as Hermione and Kailey exchanged a series of expressions that didn't all quite make sense. "What's going on?"

"We came to talk to Sirius about something," Ron stated, his eyes flickering to Kailey as she blushed and ducked her head.

"Oh," was all I said as I understood the problem. It seemed we were about to find out what had actually happened the previous night. Sirius entered the room moments later, his hair still a little damp meaning he had towel dried it.

"Alright, Kailey, out with it," he instructed, summoning a piece of parchment and pulling the coffee table closer to him. He tapped his wand against the parchment so that it would record everything factual that she said so that her emotions wouldn't be an issue when dealing with the punishment. Though, if I was being honest with myself, emotions would rule Sirius in this particular situation.

She took a deep breath, glanced at Hermione, who nodded encouragingly, and began to tell us what had happened. It was obvious right away that she had already told Hermione the story herself and the boys seemed familiar with it, though it was obvious when new details were revealed to them. I kept my reactions to myself as best I could, trying to keep Sirius from pouncing out of his seat every now and again, though mostly he sat still as a statue. When she reached the part about the zipper, she shuddered and hugged her knees closer to her chest.

"I don't know how or why, but he just couldn't…he couldn't…y-you know," she muttered furiously, hiding her face from the rest of the room.

The parchment had stopped recording when she stopped speaking and Sirius closed his eyes, took a steadying breath. "Kailey, you need to finish," he informed her, causing the parchment to imprint his words.

"He couldn't force…the zipper was stuck," I held Sirius in place as her voice broke. He took another steadying breath as my own hitched. She finished her story as quickly as possible and Sirius tapped the parchment again, with more force than necessary to be honest.

"Keena?" Hermione said quietly and I nodded at her to let her know I was listening. "You knew the zipper was stuck on her dress," she stated and I nodded again.

"Yours was too," I murmured in reply before giving Sirius' hand a tight squeeze and standing up to go to Kailey. "Boys, could you give us a few?" I requested and all three of them headed out, Sirius taking the parchment with him, most likely off to see the headmaster.

I moved her over to the couch to sit between Hermione and me and we just let her cry.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Being summoned to see the headmaster was probably not exactly the highlight of my day, mainly because it meant seeing Leon too. Sirius stood behind me and Keena sat next to me and I had a feeling the room was more magical than I thought because Madame Maxime sat between Leon and I while Dumbledore stayed behind his desk. The entire atmosphere was thickly tense and I was incredibly uncomfortable, despite the extra space the room was suddenly filled with.

The scene had been played back to us all via Dumbledore's pensieve. Maxime was even more furious than she had been the night before and I was fairly certain Sirius was going to make me walk around with a bag over my head for the rest of my life if Snape didn't lock me away once he got wind of this. Keena had held onto my hand the entire time, though I couldn't see Leon's reaction to it all. I hoped he was terrified of the look Dumbledore was giving him, though. It was scarier than both my dad, James and Sirius all combined with Remus in uncontrollable werewolf form.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" it was saying something that Dumbledore didn't bother with the formalities. His eyes had even stopped twinkling.

"She should not 'ave led me on in zat way,"

I squeezed Keena's hand to keep myself from bursting out angrily.

"She always complained zat 'er friends were over-protective. I assumed zis meant she desired more,"

"The slap in the face wasn't a good enough hint for you?" Sirius snapped. "Or maybe that she called you a spineless ogre after you told her she was 'muddy'?"

"Auror Black," Dumbledore warned and Sirius paused.

"Non, 'e iz right to criticize. Zair are non excuses for zis atrocity," Madame Maxime interrupted. "I am ashamed of zis entire ordeal," she continued, turning to give me both a pitying and apologetic look.

"Shall we discuss the appropriate action, then?" Dumbledore suggested and she nodded in reply. "Kailey and Professor Potter, you may both go. Auror Black, if you would not mind remaining behind,"

Keena nodded and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder to steer me out of the room, though whether she was blocking him from my sight or me from his, I couldn't be sure. The rest of the school was going to find out soon in any case. Fred and George had already rallied up a group of Gryffindors to assist in playing their 'humongous-embarrassing prank' that would apparently top the century. Sirius had pretended not to hear me when I told him to keep an eye out. I had a feeling he was a part of the entire thing to begin with.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Keena asked me as we walked along the halls back to the common room. I shook my head. "Let me rephrase that then; do you need to talk about it?"

I glanced up at her but quickly looked away at her pitiful stare. "No. I just want to forget about it," I replied. "I've got the tournament to focus on anyway. Gotta figure out how to get Harry to take Cedric's advice soon enough for us to come up with a good game plan,"

"Don't you think you might need to take care of this first?" she pressed.

"The tournament is deadly; this is not," I said firmly, though I felt bad at her sudden expression of fear, even if she did recover faster than you could say 'snitch'.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

The return of the term brought with it a new year, a few more random nights of vomiting and a brand new hatred for Rita Skeeter. Honestly, I wanted to turn her into a bug so I could squish her flat. Like a pancake. Or maybe flatter than that.

"I thought we killed that damned quill?" Sirius hissed as he picked up the newspaper I had crumpled up moments before. That was his reaction just before he read the article. "THAT BLOODY—!" Despite my insane curiosity about what Sirius had been about to say, I was incredibly grateful that Severus had shot that silencer at him from across the table. The entire hall (all three schools that is) froze and stared at Sirius as he worked furiously to tame his outburst.

I caught Harry's curious gaze from the end of their table and just shook my head at him. He frowned, but turned back to the other three and shrugged and they all went back to their breakfasts, seeming to be uninformed at the moment about the latest article.

"Sirius, are you calm yet?" I asked casually, stabbing my food with enough force that I was surprised I didn't crack the plate.

He took a deep breath and nodded and I flicked my wand at him to return his voice. "It certainly explains Hagrid's lack of appearance this morning," he grumbled. "I dunno how she even pieced that one together, sounds like a load of rubbish. 'Half-giant unable to protect champion in distress' my arse,"

I nodded in agreement. "The problem is, if Hagrid isn't here that must mean that it's true or he wouldn't've paid any attention to it. He's too…sensitive for this,"

"Even if he had protected her, it would've been turned on him the other way," Sirius agreed. "And this story makes it sound like he did get the damned zipper down," he growled, glancing down at the Ravenclaw table.

I looked over as well. Leon sat there with neon colored skin and hair that was down to his shoulders. His robes, aside from looking as though he had rolled in a pig-pen, spelled out in capital letters 'WORLD'S LARGEST GIT!' in flashing colors across the back. It happened to every pair of robes he tried on and no one had been able (or willing) to fix it when it had first appeared under a firestorm of stink bombs one morning soon after Boxing Day. Madame Maxime had confiscated his wand as well, so he hadn't been able to try to fix the problem himself, and she was quite satisfied to leave him be as he was.

"You don't think she'll make another crater do you?" I asked quietly, glancing over to the Slytherin table where Malfoy was sitting across from Krum, reading the _Prophet_ with glee. He must've been proud with his quotes. I was pleased to note Krum looked disgusted every time Malfoy opened his mouth.

"I was kind of hoping that she would, actually," he muttered, glancing at me with a glint in his eye. I smiled before sighing. "She'll be fine; Harry won't let anyone bother her,"

"That's why I'm worried," I replied darkly.

Suddenly there was a large commotion over at the Slytherin table.

"Votch your vords!" Krum shouted, standing up straight with his hands balled into fists at his sides. He was glaring at Malfoy, who looked shocked and confused. The entire hall was immediately silenced as everyone stared openly at the exchange.

"What are you talking about?" Malfoy answered, his confusion seeming to double as Krum took a step away from the table. The rest of the Durmstrang students began standing as well.

"You haff no manners, no honor and no dignity. I vill keep both myself and my schoolmates as far avay from you and your filth as possible," Krum replied acidly before turning on his heel and marching towards the Gryffindor table, the rest of his classmates following him.

They stopped and Krum bowed at Harry and Kailey before some quick and quiet words were exchanged as the rest of the hall began chattering. Harry glanced at Kailey, who nodded, and they all began scooting down to make room for the foreign students. Hermione looked pleased beneath her blush as Krum sat down next to her, though Ron looked a tad upset despite his obvious joy at having Malfoy humiliated. I was amused beyond belief.

"That was…sort of funny," Sirius concluded after a moment's consideration.

"And highly embarrassing," McGonagall informed him stiffly, from my other side.

"How so?" I asked, cocking my head to one side.

"Clearly Mr. Malfoy offended Mr. Krum, meaning someone from Hogwarts has offended the Durmstrang champion," she replied as though it were obvious.

"Yes, but now Durmstrang is sitting with Gryffindor. Clearly proving that the Lions beat the Serpents again," Sirius answered with a smirk. "That and I can now officially bother Severus about something legitimate, other than his lack of personal hygiene,"

**That's the end of that one. I hope you enjoyed it immensely despite how very jumpy it was with POV. Thanks for past reviews and I'd greatly appreciate more (I especially like the ones with questions, even if I might not answer in a straight line)! Next shall be 21! **

**:-D**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One: Dead…

**I own nada de eso. Sorry. **

**So here's the next part. I hope you like it! **

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"I just don't understand why you want to sit at the table with your opponent!" Ron huffed on our way to Care of Magical Creatures. "It doesn't make any sense! How d'you know he won't cheat off of you?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Relax, Ron, Krum isn't a bad guy, he won't cheat off of us,"

"Considering there isn't anything to cheat off of…" Harry muttered under his breath.

"What, Harry?" Hermione asked, looking past Ron and me to try and see Harry. Ron sniggered as Harry shook his head.

"Nothing, Hermione," he replied as we resumed our walk through the cold snow.

"Wish they'd dig us a path or something," Dean complained from ahead of us and Seamus nodded eagerly as we approached the cabin.

"That is not Hagrid," Lavender mumbled to Parvati. I couldn't contain a small laugh at this obvious statement. The short witch with gray hair certainly didn't look like Hagrid at least.

I sighed and shook my head when the other three gave me questioning looks. I had thought we had escaped all of the 'half-giant' drama, but I guess I was wrong. Professor Grubbly-Plank ordered us all closer, complaining that we had been tardy just as the Slytherins arrived behind us. I noticed with a slight bit of satisfaction that Malfoy had been shunted to the edge of the group, leaving Pansy Parkinson in the lead of the group.

She led us all around the hut and to the paddock. At the very back of the paddock stood a shimmering, white unicorn. It tossed its mane and whinnied, pawing the ground a bit at the sight of us as we all gasped. Well, the girls gasped, the boys were all trying very hard to act macho and unimpressed by the spectacular sight.

"Boys, stay back!" Grubbly-Plank commanded, throwing up a hand. "Unicorns prefer a woman's touch. Girls, come along forward," she added, waving us forward.

Hermione and I followed the rest of the girls, all of us moving very slowly so as not to startle the already unhappy unicorn. I noticed my wand growing warmer as we approached, but I ignored it. As we drew closer, Grubbly-Plank began explaining a few things about the mythical creature in front of us.

"The blood of a unicorn has many magical properties. Can any of you explain one of them?" she asked, ignoring the boys in the back for the most part.

"Unicorn blood has the power to stop you from dying," Hermione quipped as soon as Grubbly-Plank nodded at her. "But if you drink it, it'll curse you forever,"

"Exactly, five points for Gryffindor. Now, the hair of a unicorn's tail can also be used in the core of a wand. For every piece of tail hair taken, the unicorn will shine just a bit less brightly. But if ever faced with the wand it helped to create, the unicorn will glow up to one hundred times brighter, depending of course, on the power of the wand's wielder. This unicorn has been caught by Mr. Ollivander at least one time," she informed us. "In fact, he was the one who told me where to catch her."

She continued telling us about the unicorns and their preferred habitats and foods before allowing us all to move in slowly to pat the mythical horse. We all stepped up, one at a time, to pet the creature. But as I stepped closer, I noticed the unicorn began to shine just a bit brighter. I paused and took a curious step backwards. She whinnied again, startling the other girls, but when I stepped closer, she grew even brighter than before. I smiled to myself as I took the last step and laid my hand on the unicorn.

"Oh my!" Grubbly-Plank cried out as the other girls gasped at the sudden flash of light steadied into a shade of white that was almost unbearable to look at for very long.

The unicorn leaned into my hand with her head so that my hand was on the front of her face, just underneath her horn, her golden eyes facing me. I rubbed her between the eyes and they fluttered closed. "So…is this a normal reaction, Professor?"

She just stared at me, open-mouthed.

"I hope she decides to stay," Parvati stated after class as we all headed back to the castle. "Really, I do, that was what I had thought this class would be like; unicorns, not monsters,"

"I would hardly call a hippogriff a monster," I said before Harry could open his mouth as his face betrayed first shock then anger. "Especially not to its face," I added without missing a beat.

"Even so, that was an amazing lesson. Did you even know that the core of your wand was from that unicorn?" Lavender insisted. Grubbly-Plank had stuttered for a moment before she had been able to further explain how one would be able to tell if the core of a wand matched the provider. The other girls had all given me jealous looks when the unicorn had leaned her head on my shoulder as we began to leave.

"No, but I hardly expect that to be a common thing to begin with," I answered with a shrug. "Still, I can't wait for Hagrid to come back,"

"I dunno if he'll bother to come back, Kailey," Seamus informed me somewhat solemnly. "Harry, did you keep that article?"

He nodded, but hesitated before handing it over to me. I frowned and decided to only read the title. My frown transformed into a glare and I couldn't stop myself from reading. I don't really think any of the boys were surprised when I crumpled it up into a ball, mixed it in with a snow ball and threw it in the air only to aim a fiery blast at it that created quite the explosive firework.

"I shall squish that pest someday," I said with forced patience. "And that day draws closer with every word she types."

"I'm a bit afraid to ask," Hermione admitted, exchanging a glance with Ron as we began climbing the stairs. "But shall I assume it had to do with a certain foreigner?"

I nodded, still glaring. "And Hagrid," Harry added in an undertone. "According to the article, he's half-giant,"

"But Skeeter's always off the mark," Hermione argued as we entered the school. "Isn't she?" she asked in a quieter tone once it was just the four of us together.

"Except for the fact that she's not wrong this time," I murmured, wishing I had something to kick at.

"But he'll come back to teach, you said so," Ron said, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Yeah, but he'll need some…persuading," I replied. "C'mon, we're going to be late," I added before they could push the subject further.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Not a word from you," I groaned when Sirius found me in the bathroom the second Saturday after term had started. I just wanted to go back to bed. I didn't want to have to deal with his not-so-subtle hints of going to the hospital wing or even worse, the actual hospital.

"This needs to stop, Keena," he said, pushing himself off of the doorframe and kneeling in front of me. "Don't you understand how worried I am?"

"The last thing I need is to go have some healers abduct me in the hospital," I groaned as he brushed the hair out of my face.

"I believe the term is actually 'admit' you to the hospital," he grinned before leaning down and lifting me up. "And the last thing you need is to be sick, think about Harry. How's he going to concentrate if he's worried about your health?"

"He's not worried," I mumbled, leaning into his chest. "And don't you tell him; there's no need for him to know," I accused before he could have any ideas.

"How d'you know you're not losing weight over this?" he asked, trying from a different angle, I suppose. I shook my head. "And how would you know that?"

"Because," I answered sourly. First the man wants to get me into a hospital and now he wants to discuss my weight? Fool.

"How?" he persisted.

I glared at him moodily before looking away as he set me down on the bed.

"Well, if you're not losing, are you gaining?"

"Sirius, I would have thought by now you knew not to discuss things like weight to women," I replied acidly. He ignored me, taking my venom as confirmation to his question.

"You need to see a healer."

"I do not," I answered. "And I'm within my rights to choose not to do so," I added purely for effect.

"You would be…if you were head of your family." He said airily.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You're a pureblood now," he shrugged. "And not a man, clearly, so you are not head of the family,"

"Brilliant Sirius, I'm glad you know I'm not a man,"

"Well, since you're clearly interested in why this matters, I'll tell you despite your rude demeanor." I scoffed and rolled my eyes, but he ignored me. "It may be medieval or worse, but in a pureblood family, the wish of the head of the family must be obeyed when concerning certain health issues. Death, coma, that sort of thing," he explained carefully, though he was grinning wickedly which meant he was not done.

"I'm not dying and if I were in a coma we wouldn't be speaking at the moment." I replied when he didn't continue immediately.

"Right, but there is something else that falls under the rather short list that a pureblood's magic ties them to the head of the family for." We both stared at one another. "Are you going to ask?"

"Why would I do that when you're clearly about to tell me?" I replied unhappily.

"Pregnancy," he answered after a moment.

"Sirius, we've already established that I'm not. Pomfrey's spell failed. I've just got some strange bug," I answered, shaking my head. "For all we know, it could be an after-effect from all the drinking I used to do that my body is struggling with,"

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter, if James or even Harry tells you to go, your magic will want you to listen,"

"I can always refuse," I replied. "My magic is my own,"

"Yes," he agreed. "But your conscience will get to you,"

"Like yours did with your family?" I argued. "They clearly thought it was something of a health risk to be so comfortable with muggle-borns,"

"Sure, my conscience struggled, but it wasn't an actual health risk and my magic knew that," he replied easily.

"You annoy me,"

"You love me,"

I rolled my eyes, but smiled at his goofy grin all the same.

"Does that mean I win?" he asked, probably referring to my smile.

"No,"

"But you smiled…"

"Yes, because I think you're foolish,"

He rolled his eyes and kissed my forehead, running his hand through my hair once. "It would help me to sleep so much better if you would just go and take care of this. I can't handle worrying over you and Harry and Kailey all at once,"

"Then stop worrying over me," I replied, taking his hand in mine. "I'm a big girl, you know, lived without parents and everything,"

"No, you just ended up with Remus for the last twelve years," he answered, shaking his head and standing up. I frowned at him as he headed to the dresser for a cloak.

"Oh!" I gasped and jumped out of bed, rummaging around my drawers for a moment.

"What do you think you're doing?" I almost jumped again as he turned me to face him. "You should be in bed," he said sternly.

"No, Sirius, it's a Hogsmeade day!" I reminded him. "We've got to get ready,"

"I've got to get ready, you'd better stay here and rest," he answered, steering me towards my bed. "Unless you'd rather visit Poppy?" his question was very hopeful sounding. I snorted. "Fine, then you can't come to Hogsmeade,"

"That is so…ridiculous, Sirius! You know I want to see everyone!" I complained, planting my feet and glaring up at him.

"We don't have to be there for another hour. That leaves plenty of time to visit the good healer," he stated in a final sort of way. "Or plenty of time for me to get Severus in here to babysit,"

I sighed. "I'll go and see her, but you're not allowed in with us," I bargained. "That's not negotiable," I added when he opened his mouth to argue with me.

Not twenty minutes later, we headed up to the hospital wing. I felt a growing sense of dread with every step I took closer to that white linen and lemony-scented room. Even if something was wrong, there was no way I was missing out on this trip. Nor was there any way I would be sleeping anywhere except my own bed. It was only the knowledge that I was an adult who could remove myself from Poppy's care legally if need be that kept my feet moving. That, and Sirius had his arm over my shoulders, pushing me forward when I paused for even the tiniest of moments.

"Professor Potter, what a pleasant surprise," Madame Pomfrey had the doors open for us and immediately had me over at my old bed, curtains drawn and wand out all in the same moment. "Just some preliminary checks to begin with," she said as she flicked her wrist in several directions. I sighed, glad that Sirius was staying true to his word and not coming around the screens.

With another, sudden, flick of her wrist a scale was placed in front of me. I rolled my eyes. "You've spoken with him in the last twenty minutes?" it was more accusation than question. I stepped onto the insulting equipment in any case.

"He sent along a patronus," she confirmed. "Now, hold still," I chose to ignore the number that appeared happily in front of my face. "Odd…if you've been sick so much, you shouldn't be gaining a thing, but here you are with a good—"

"Yes, I can see that quite well," I interrupted, eyes closed. "Could you just please tell him I'm fine so I can leave? He wants me at St. Mungo's if I'm not 'better'. I don't think I'm sick at all," I whispered, knowing full and well that he was listening in as best he could.

"The problem is, dear, that I'm not sure why you're so sickly. It may be best for you to have a few days off to get this all cleared up,"

I sighed again. "Look, just do that damn test to see if I'm…just do that and he'll be satisfied when it turns negative,"

She looked at me skeptically. "And if it's not?"

"It is,"

She folded her arms and gave me a hard stare. "Here's what we'll do; come back tonight after the trip to the village. That way you won't have to be a nervous wreck the entire time you chaperone those children,"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine with me,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Hogsmeade trips were supposed to be fun, right? Not so when your father insists that the school Auror tails you everywhere you go. Never mind the fact that said Auror was planning on following you to begin with, but just knowing my dad had put him up to it as well made me angrier. We were on our way to the Three Broomsticks because Keena and Sirius were meeting up with some friends. Not to mention it was freezing out to begin with. My shoes had soaked through with dirty slush by the time we entered the crowded and bustling pub.

"Who is it you're meeting up with again?" Harry asked as his godparents scanned the room, though to be honest, Sirius looked as though he was looking for enemies rather than friends. It was probably why Harry was giving me a cautious glance as he asked.

"Some old school friends, Harry, the ones you met at the cup," Keena answered with a smile. "And I think Remus was thinking about coming to meet with us as well,"

"Libby and Johnny?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Hopefully," Sirius replied. "And we're clear in here. You lot can go ahead and find a table, just stay nearby," he instructed, giving me a meaningful look. I rolled my eyes in reply and set off behind Ron who had already spotted a booth.

"What'll you have, dears?" Madame Rosmerta practically flew to our table, a minor miracle considering how high her sparkly turquoise shoes were.

"Four butterbeers, please," Harry answered, glancing around to see that we had all nodded in agreement.

She nodded and weaved her way back to the counter, flicking her wand at empty tankards as she went causing them to zoom onto the tray she was carrying. She nodded to Sirius and Keena on her way over, both of whom were now standing with a blonde witch and red-headed wizard we had met at the cup.

"Who're they?" Hermione wondered, following my gaze.

Ron turned around and waved as the blonde witch caught his eye. "Those're my Aunt Nickie and Uncle Orion, my mum's little brother," he answered. "She's a part-time Auror and he's a full-time one," he added, boasting a little.

"Cool," Harry replied, turning to glance at them as well. "Do they get up to much?"

Ron shook his head. "Not as much as they did during the war. At least, that's what they tell us in the letters,"

Madame Rosmerta came back with our drinks and we thanked her just as she sprinted off again.

"That woman knows how to move in heels," I muttered, shaking my head.

"It can't be that bad," Harry replied with a roll of his eyes.

"You try it sometime," I challenged, Hermione smiling into her butterbeer as she scanned the pub again. "Hagrid isn't here, Hermione," I told her again. "He won't come back till he's convinced people want him, remember?"

"He won't even open his bloody door," Ron grumbled. "How're we supposed to help him if he won't let us?"

I opened my mouth to respond when I realized I was being attacked by a complete and total stranger. I shoved the attacker off of me and massaged my wind-pipe before looking up to see Libby hugging the life out of Harry as well. I breathed out a sigh of relief and leaned back in the seat as Remus gently pried her off of her son.

"Merlin, Libby, don't do that," I panted, trying to calm my racing heart.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," she answered with a guilty smile as Johnny grasped Harry's hand before giving me a quick pat on the shoulder. I did my best to repress the shudder that the simple touch elicited.

"All right, you four?" he asked, though his eyes lingered on Harry and I a second longer than on the other two.

"Good," Ron shrugged and Hermione and Harry nodded in agreement as I shrugged, angry that I hadn't been able to stop from flinching again.

He nodded at us. "We'll be right over there if you need anything," he replied, steering Lily over to their table. I was fairly certain that the brunette witch (Amanda?) was staring at 'Libby's' response to seeing us all again.

"She is going to blow their cover," Harry mumbled as he turned back to face the center of the table. He couldn't quite hide the smile that was threatening to take over his entire face. "But how are we supposed to help him?"

I just shrugged, looking around to see nobody was coming near us. Bagman was by the counter, but he was surrounded by goblins and he kept looking over towards Sirius who was studiously looking away from that section of the pub. "We'll get him back soon enough," was all I said, scanning the room again.

"Who're you looking for?" Hermione asked, noticing my present occupation of periodically looking around.

"Nobody you like," I grinned just as a stiff breeze blew into the pub from the door. "Bloody hell, not already," I grumbled, shrinking down in my seat.

"What?" Hermione asked again, staring at me and my new position in my seat.

"Skeeter," Ron replied, his nose wrinkled and his ears turning pink. "She who you were looking for?" he added, exchanging a look with Harry before facing me. I nodded sourly.

"I dunno how we're gonna get away from here," I added unhappily. "Maybe Sirius'll start a brawl with Remus and Johnny,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Want to start a bar fight, anyone?" Sirius asked, turning away from the door while ignoring a frantic wave from Ludo Bagman once more.

"That shade of yellow shouldn't be legal on her," Lexi stated disapprovingly, flipping her bright blonde hair over her shoulder. Jeremy rolled his eyes at his wife but said nothing as James and Damien exchanged glances and snickered. "Can't you arrest her?" she added, looking around between the Aurors assembled at the table.

Damien snorted. "I wish. She makes enough trouble as it is,"

"You've no idea," I answered, rolling my eyes. "Poor Kailey and Harry've had to deal with her for months now,"

"And how've they dealt?" Amanda asked curiously.

"Surprisingly well," Lily answered quietly, taking a sip of her drink, not looking at anyone but Rita. She looked back over to find Amanda giving her a doubtful look. "What?"

"And how is it that you know this?" she pressed, leaning forward.

"Amanda—" Nickie tried to interrupt.

"You've just appeared out of nowhere, you and your husband," she stated, glancing at James, whose face had turned to stone. Sure, it hid his emotions, but it was obvious he was hiding something. "And Remus, you don't _have_ any relatives."

Remus quirked an eyebrow and looked over at me and Sirius as if to say 'well, damn.'

"So, who are you two really, then? And why have you two trusted them? You're supposed to be Harry's guardians," she accused Sirius and me quickly, still keeping her voice low.

I glanced back over to make certain that Rita and all her yellowy glory were still within view and a good distance away from us. Thankfully, she was accosting the goblins who had just been bothering Bagman, who was now being spoken to by the twins.

"Are you suggesting that I would allow harmful strangers near my godson? My nephew?" I asked just as quietly, raising an eyebrow at her. Amanda gave the tiniest sign of deflating when Nickie picked up the slack.

"Of course not, but don't you think we all might like to have an idea on who and why?" she requested bluntly. "It's not as though we're in wartime. No bloody dark lords are about to jump up from the grave and reclaim old powers,"

No dark lords, maybe…

"Are you admitting that these two are strangers?" Orion asked, looking straight at Lily and James, neither of whom had said one word nor made a move to do so.

A very heavy silence fell upon the entire table.

"I don't see how our relation completely concerns you," James answered finally. Lily fidgeted. "Are they not allowed to make new friends?"

"Friends are fine," Jeremy answered. "But why lie?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lily asked after trading a look with James. I bit my lip in anticipation. Were they really about to do this?

"No, it isn't," Lexi disagreed, huffing a little bit. "You both seem too comfortable with the group,"

"Like you've known us for years rather than in passing two times," Nickie added, frowning. "It's odd, not to mention your obvious comfort with Harry,"

"As though the fame has zero effect on you, like you're not used to it, especially you, Johnny. I expected Sirius to be worse about it," Amanda added, folding her arms across her chest. "What is your secret?"

I found myself leaning forward in interest, despite already knowing what they were all talking about. The silence returned before we were all interrupted.

"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" my head snapped up to see Harry glaring angrily at Rita Skeeter who had just sat down with her camera man. She looked surprised and half the room fell silent.

"Oh, Harry dear! And Kailey too! How simply divine! Why don't the two of you join us—?"

"I thought we told you to stay away from our godson?" Sirius asked, standing up and heading towards the kids' table.

"Mr. Black! You're here as well? And Ms. McIntosh!"

"Merlin, you still can't get names right, can you? No wonder you get all your facts wrong, you don't even get names to begin with," I answered, not bothering to stand in favor of rubbing my forehead. "His name is _Auror_ Black, and I'm a _Professor_, _Ms_. Skeeter," Jeremy and James chuckled at my condescending tone.

"Names are not always as important as…breed," she replied arrogantly.

"You should know, you old cow," I answered with a roll of my eyes.

She turned bright red. "One would think you would watch your tongue, Professor, lest the Ministry were to hear of how exactly this 'Auror' escaped his prison cell," Sirius' face turned red in anger and I noticed his hand twitching towards his wand.

"Is that a threat?" Orion asked, standing from the table to reveal his own badge. "Because I can show you to your own cell quite easily,"

"You might like to show that oaf at the castle who calls himself a Professor to one first. The readers don't seem to like a giant being so near their children," she shot back heatedly, realizing her quill wasn't quite good enough to beat our numbers.

"Who cares that he might be half-giant?" Harry shouted back, just as angry. "He's got nothing wrong with him!"

"Then perhaps you'd consider an interview?" she asked, spinning to face Harry again, looking over Sirius' shoulder. "Tell us of the real Hagrid, your friendship and why it even exists. Is he like a father, Harry?"

The sound of breaking glass alerted me to the fact that there was now mead all over our table. James shook his now bleeding hand out and wrapped it in several napkins.

"How dare you," Hermione seethed, standing from her own seat and stepping in front of Sirius, who held her back from going any closer. "Anything'll do for a story won't it? Doesn't matter whose life it is so long as you've ruined it! Never mind if it's a couple of fourteen-year-olds, a half-giant or an orphan! You're disgusting!"

"Professor, is this how you allow students to speak to their betters?"

I blinked and looked at Hermione. "Betters? Why, of course she wouldn't say such a thing to her betters! How ridiculous, she's perfectly spot on," I winked at her and some of the redness ebbed away from her face, though her expression was still murderous.

"Listen here, you little—"

Very suddenly there was a half of a flask of butterbeer hanging over Rita's head before it was unceremoniously dumped on top of her. There was shock throughout the pub for one moment before gales of laughter erupted.

Kailey stowed her wand away neatly before saying something to Sirius who nodded and the four of them left the pub without another word. Skeeter did her best to wipe herself clean with a napkin before ten more drinks with varying amounts of alcohol were dumped over her again. The laughter was renewed and the eleven of us exited the pub to head for the Hog's Head. I sent a patronus along to let Dumbledore know where Sirius and I were off to.

"Never thought the daughter of Severus Snape would play a prank," Lexi laughed as we walked in the door. The inn-keeper nodded to us before summoning his pot of floo powder and leaving it on the counter for us.

"The witch deserved it," Remus replied with a smirk.

"Agreed," Damien nodded. "Too bad your glass broke," he added, nodding to James, who was still holding his hand. He grimaced in reply. "Amanda, why don't you help the fellow out?"

"No!" I cried as she lifted her wand from her pocket as Lily gasped.

"Why not, Keena? It's a simple spell," the seasoned healer reasoned.

"It will lift the disguise," Lily whispered.

"Why don't we all head to Potter Mansion?" Sirius suggested after a rather pregnant silence. "We've been staying there," he added to the confused looks on several faces in the group as he reached for the floo powder on the counter and offering it to me first.

I brushed myself off as I stepped into the kitchen and found myself facing Binks, his hands folded behind his back as he swept into a deep bow. "Welcome back home, Mistress Keena,"

"Thank you, Binks," I replied, accepting a towel to wipe my hands off. "Could you prepare the dining room? We're to have some guests," I requested as the fire turned green behind me. "There will be eleven of us,"

He bowed and snapped his fingers and several more house-elves suddenly flooded the room and marched into the dining room carrying cleaning supplies and one elflet, Twinkle, carried a tray of tea and cookies. I turned to face Lily and Remus who were accepting towels from Binks.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Remus enquired as Lily's hand shook.

"It brings us one step closer to being able to live…normally. I want to give Harry as much normality as possible. Being ready has little to do with it," she answered quietly as James stepped through the fire.

"Keena, would you help us with the spells?" he asked before he was all the way through the grate.

"Of course, but I wouldn't recommend being transformed when they all arrive," I answered. "Binks can show them in, and Remus, you could meet them in the dining room?" he nodded and the three of us headed into the hall.

"Thank you," James said as soon as we were all assembled and I began removing the spells. I shrugged, trying to hide my smile. "What?" he asked, noticing my smirk and Lily gave me a curious look as her hair returned to a fiery red.

"It's nothing," I answered, trying to stop smiling.

"Liar," Lily grinned. "What is it?"

"It's just…I'm glad that you're letting them all know," I replied, now unable to harness my smile. I felt like a Cheshire cat. "There, all set," I said as I finished the final unmasking spell and smiling up at my brother, twirling my ring as I did so.

Lily gasped and I looked at her to see a dawning expression of understanding. The initial shock was quickly followed by a slightly guilty grin. I tilted my head in question and she rolled her eyes. "You're excited because of the wedding," she answered. I blushed and looked down. "That's it, isn't it? You were waiting on James and me,"

James snorted. "Why would you do that? We'd've been there no matter what,"

I huffed. "Maybe I _wanted_ my brother and his wife to be there when I got married since my father won't and neither will my mother," Voices floated down the hall from the other room. It sounded like they were all questioning where the three of us had gone. "Shall I introduce you?"

James nodded as Lily slipped her hand into his.

I gave them one last smile before marching into the dining room. Remus and Sirius were on their feet, looking nervously determined whereas every other expression in the room ranged from suspicion (on Amanda in particular) to pure curiosity (mainly Lexi). Finally, Orion stood up.

"What is going on? Who are those people?"

"You may wish to take a seat," Remus replied, though it sounded as though he'd been repeating that mantra for several minutes.

"What we have to tell you is exciting, exhausting and highly illegal," I explained as Orion sat back down. "It has to do with Remus, Lily and mine's work at the Ministry, in the Department of Mysteries,"

"We were in Spell Inventions," Remus added. "That's why we were able to continue research after Lily and James had gone into hiding."

"You remember, Amanda, the day Neville Longbottom was born? He was dead," I said, placing my stare on her.

"Yes, I remember. You and Remus had something you wanted to discuss with me but you went straight to him instead. Like you knew something about his condition that we couldn't fix," she replied, her eyes narrowing in something akin to distrust. "And then you placed a spell on him, I don't know how, but he was alive,"

"You brought a child back to life? Is that what you're saying?" Nickie interrupted, sounding awestruck.

"Not just a child," I answered. "I also performed the spell on James, not ten minutes after his first death," I paused, allowing what I had just said to sink in before adding, "I was successful,"

**Long chapter, and filled with a lot I think…and a semi-cliffy…sorry! I hope you enjoyed it and will happily review. Next up is 22!**

**:-D**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two: …or Alive?

**Here it is! Number 22 and it's still not mine! Woo hoo!**

**Enjoy it for me? **

_Keena's Point of View: _

"That's not possible," Lexi was the first to regain the ability to speak. "And if it were…if it were they'd never leave for so long! They'd never let anyone think they were dead!"

"How could you say something like this?" Orion demanded, holding Nickie close to him as she shook. "I know you've had a hard time, but…this is…this is…"

"The truth," Remus interrupted. "Amanda, you saw it take place," he added, turning to face her as she sat silently in her seat. "You tried the incantation yourself,"

"But it didn't work on her…she still died," she replied her eyes turning to me in apology.

"Aradia's soul was stolen. Lily and James only had theirs removed and the incantation called them back to their bodies." I answered quietly. "They're here, see for yourselves," I said, gesturing towards the door. It was a moment before James entered the room and I figured he must've been getting himself prepared. Lily followed him in quickly and wrapped her hand in his as she took deep, deliberate breaths.

A sob broke the silence and I looked over to find Amanda covering her mouth, tears running down her face. "Lily?" she whispered, lowering her hands just enough to make her voice heard. Lily nodded, her own eyes beginning to water. "Why?"

"We had to protect Harry," James answered quietly. "Hiding all three of us didn't work so we had to make different arrangements with as few people involved as possible,"

"Remus found out years ago," Lily continued. "Sirius did just last year. He stayed with us," she said, doing her best to hold her voice together.

"But what about Harry? You left him with those rotten relatives of yours, Lily, how could you do that to him after all she did to you?" Amanda demanded through her tears. "Didn't Keena tell you about their treatment of him? She certainly told us enough horror stories. And do you know why she wasn't allowed to have him, James? Because of her alcohol abuse over you! James, it wasn't just Harry who suffered, Keena did too," James was completely shame-faced, looking ill at the thought of Amanda's suggestion.

"Amanda that's not—"

"It is true, Keena, don't try to protect them, they certainly weren't protecting you or Harry," Amanda cut me off before I could deflect what she had said. "We've had to watch you suffer for years, dealing with Aradia, Sirius, Harry, James and Lily, and your parents all at once and now we know that most of that suffering was unnecessary?"

"But Amanda, I knew they were alive, I knew and I kept their silence. I became their new secret keeper; I acted as their eyes over Harry. It was my choice," I explained, trying to calm her down. "If I suffered, it was because of the burdens I placed on my own shoulders,"

"Sirius could've been freed if you hadn't," Lexi said quietly. "I know you made appeals and arguments and eventually broke him out, don't bother denying it, it's obvious," she added as I opened my mouth to do just that. "If you'd just told someone Lily and James were alive they could've testified that Sirius was innocent,"

_My fault…_

My eyes watered as I turned to face Sirius. His eyes were closed tightly and he was taking even breaths as best he could. "I know it's not good enough," I whispered, still looking at him as a tear fell down the side of my face. "But I'm so sorry," he opened his eyes, haunted by the shadow Azkaban had left behind, and crossed the room to stand with me, pulling me into him as tightly as he could. "Madame Pomfrey is checking again when we get back to the castle," I whispered against him and he held me tighter still, his lips pressed to the top of my head.

"I know what we've done is inexcusable," James began as Sirius and I slowly broke apart. "We can't go back. I don't know that I'd do any different," he said mostly to himself. "But now it's not about us, it's about our family, all of it," he added nodding his head to the Marauders. "Harry knows we're alive as do his friends,"

"My nephew?" Orion asked, sounding a bit doubtful. "How's he kept it from Molly?"

"He hasn't, it was easier to tell the whole lot of them. They found out this past summer. The tickets to the top box were his birthday present from all of us," James replied apologetically. "I know that it seems as though we've told a lot of people, but Harry's needs had to come first."

"I won't forgive you," Nickie said quietly. "Not for a long while, but I do understand. I can't imagine what I'd've done for Alexis. I can't imagine what I wouldn't do,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Guilt trip much, Harry?" I asked as the four of us settled down in the common room a few days after our…eventful, visit with Hagrid was finished with. We'd just seen Hagrid again in the hall, who had waved merrily next to Flitwick. The tiny wizard had been forced to duck out of the way, which was saying something for how short he was.

"What's he got to be guilty over?" Hermione asked and Harry fixed me with a glare. I just shrugged.

"Cedric's advice seems much better this side of Christmas, don't you agree?" I added lightly. His glare intensified. "What?"

"He told us to take a bath. What kind of advice is that?" he asked bluntly, still giving me a stare. "Bad enough he couldn't just tell me outright, he had to go and tell us to bathe together…" Ron's eyes widened considerably and Hermione looked as though she couldn't quite believe what Harry'd just said.

I rolled my eyes. "Honestly, have none of you heard of bathing suits? And if it bothers you so much, you can go by yourself…unless I'm wrong, of course,"

"A bit dodgy, isn't it? What if you get caught?" Ron asked. "Filch won't believe you and the Slytherins'll just play it all up,"

"Then we just won't get caught," I replied, though his suggestion made me nervous. "That's what the cloak is for, isn't it?"

"And you really do need to work out that clue," Hermione sighed. "Tonight's as good as any night,"

"Where will we find bathing suits?" Harry asked, still not sounding keen on taking Cedric's advice. "It's not exactly summertime," he added, nodding towards the window where the ice covered grounds shimmered in the setting sun.

"Easy," I answered. "Dobby,"

The answering crack made me jump along with half the common room as Dobby bowed low to the ground. Murmurs filled the room before a few people shrugged the oddity off and went back to their own business. "Miss Snape is calling for Dobby?"

"You can order the elves?" Ron asked incredulously. I shrugged.

"Not that I know of,"

"Miss Snape is being Master Snape's daughter. Elveses is to obey all teachers and their childrens," Dobby answered happily. "Dobby is wearing Master Wheezy's socks," he added, pointing happily to his feet. Ron grinned in reply, giving Dobby the thumbs up.

"Dobby, do you think you could grab Harry and I some swim suits? We need to use water to help us with the second task," I explained as Dobby's eyebrows narrowed.

"As Miss wishes," he answered, snapping his fingers and handing us our bundles. "Dobby wishes good luck to Miss Snape and Harry Potter, sir! Great luck indeed!" he added brightly before vanishing into thin air as Harry and I said thank you.

Not too long of a time later, Harry and I were huddled underneath the invisibility cloak, Harry clutching the map to his nose, me holding on to our suits and the egg. I'd suggested just changing in the dorms, but Harry had squashed that idea, reminding me we might leave a trail of water behind us if we weren't changed in the end anyway. It was easier to carry two suits than all of our clothes combined.

We finally got to the prefects' bathroom and slid through the door, locking it tightly behind us. I turned around first and let my jaw drop. The entire tub was white marble and the size of a small swimming pool. The hundred taps were silvery white, each encrusted with a different jewel. A large stained glass portrait of a mermaid as muggles viewed them was snoring delicately in her frame. I looked around and spotted a snag I hadn't thought of.

"Where do we change?" Harry asked before I could.

"Facing opposite walls, I suppose." I replied a bit uneasily, stealing a glance to read his expression. Discomfort. Good. I sighed. "Well, here's yours," I said, moving to hand him his suit, a pair of green trunks with a pattern of Hawaiian flowers. I turned to hold my suit up and made a discovery I was not pleased with. I didn't mind so much that it was red with silver strips slanting across it. I did mind a little bit, however, that it was a two piece.

I changed quickly, covering myself with a towel from the corner of the room, and once we'd both announced that we were finished, we went over to the tub and began playing with the taps. I lifted up some purple bubbles that looked soft and threw them at Harry when he wasn't looking. They bounced off of his head, knocking his glasses askew before landing back in the water. He looked at me as he fixed his glasses, a calculating expression on his face. I frowned as he began to grin wickedly and began backing up before he lunged, knocking us both into the water, my towel included. His hold on my arms set me into a panic and I thrashed under the water, pulling us both to the surface.

"Let go!" I demanded, keeping my head together enough that I didn't yell at him. "Please," I added as he released me, panic clearly dominating his face.

"Merlin, Kailey, I'm sorry, that was stupid—"

"No, its fine, you didn't mean it," I cut him off, taking deep breaths. "Get the egg? I've gotta find that towel,"

Once I had located the towel I climbed out of the water and set it on a rack to dry, hopefully by magic. I turned around to find Harry staring. "What? It looks that bad?"

"Wha—? No! I mean, it looks, I mean, you look—er—great?" he stuttered uncomfortably as he floundered.

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. I stuck out my hip and put a hand on it as I stared at him. "Well, Mr. Potter, do I or do I not look amazing in a swim suit?"

He gulped and my grin doubled. "Egg?" he asked, lifting it up to avoid answering.

"Oh, no, you brought this up, you don't get out of answering." I said pointedly, crossing my arms over my chest. "Because if you don't answer it means I look horrifyingly ugly in this suit in girl speak," I added giving him the Look.

He bit his lip. "I didn't think you'd like hearing it after…that," he nodded to the tub for clarification.

"Oh," I said, deflating a little bit. "Sorry,"

"What for? It wasn't your fault," he replied sincerely. "And you do look…" he took a big breath. "I think you look great," the blush on my face was probably only comparable to his. "Now, let's get to work,"

Hardly ten minutes later, we both surfaced the water for a second time, the egg carefully closed so as not to make shrieking noises above the water. "Well, at least it's the same as I thought," I replied, wiping the hairs that had come loose from my ponytail out of my face. "Do you understand what it means?"

"Whoever it is, they're going to take something from us and we've been allowed one hour to get it back. What are they going to take, though?" he asked and I debated answering him a moment.

"You'll flip out if I tell you now and I've got no clue what they'll take from me at any rate," I shrugged easily. "But who do you think is gonna take it? If they can only speak underwater, that is,"

He frowned and moved as though to fix his glasses before settling for just wiping water out of his eyes. "Unless there are merpeople under there…" he began, sneaking a glance at me. I gave him a grin and he shook his head. "At least they're semi-human, right?"

"Not really, but sure," I answered, shrugging again. He rolled his eyes in my direction and I giggled. "Just don't be surprised when you don't see Arial coming to greet you," I warned, sobering my grin slightly. "They won't be violent or anything, but they don't look the way the storybooks say," I added hastily as his expression shifted to unease.

"Well that didn't take too long," a voice giggled from the other side of the tub. I squeaked, jumping into Harry's arms, forcing him to drop the egg. Moaning Myrtle giggled again as she pretended to swim laps towards us. Even as a ghost, her stroke was terrible, but I kept that to myself as I slowly processed Harry's arms were still around me. "Going for a midnight swim together now?" she asked, wriggling her eyebrows.

"Nope, off to bed, lots to do need plenty of rest," I answered quickly, praying it was just in my head that my voice went up a pitch. Maybe two.

Myrtle frowned. "Oh, I see, I've gone and spoiled your night then, haven't I? If I'm such a bother, why not just tell me to go?"

"You're not a bother," Harry answered immediately. "But we've got class in the morning, and we've only just worked out the clue,"

"Oh, sure! And I suppose that's why you never visit anymore either, is it, Harry?" Harry opened his mouth to reply when she cut him off. "Don't! I'll just leave you two alone together, but don't expect any favors from me!" she wailed just before sailing back up one of the taps, presumably to zoom back to her out of order toilets.

I looked up at him from my position in his arms, trying not to let my slight discomfort show. "I'll get the egg, then, shall I?" he said before diving down to get it. I smiled to myself a little before climbing out of the bath, flipping the switch for the drain as Harry climbed out.

We said nothing as we changed, slipping into our robes silently. Leaving our suits behind with the towels, we retreated back to Gryffindor Tower underneath the invisibility cloak, though this time I made sure I was in charge of the map. That didn't stop him from looking, though.

"Is that Mr. Crouch?" he whispered, stopping dead in his tracks and pointing at the dot.

The headache came first as the real answer entered my thoughts. I managed to get away with a non-committal shrug of sorts. "Let's just go, I've got a headache," I mumbled, though my throat constricted ever so slightly at the word 'headache'.

He gave me a suspicious look. "All of a sudden? Are you getting sick?" he asked, moving to put a hand on my forehead. I brushed it away quickly.

"No, I just think I need to go to sleep," I whispered, a bit snappishly to be honest. "C'mon, we've got Potions tomorrow,"

He didn't argue and we made it all the way back to the dorm without any fuss.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"How is it you got out of seeing her the other day, again?" Sirius asked as I returned to the bedroom. I shrugged. "Have you gone to see her at all since we got back?"

"When've I had time, Sirius? I've had so many students recently coming in for all sorts of things, from homework, to exams, to poor Valentine's days." I shuddered. Some of those girls just did not know when to let go. "Not only that, but I'm worried sick over Harry! I don't think he knows what he's doing yet!"

I'd caught him and Ron with loads of books, heading up to the common room from the library, Hermione following with another armload and bickering with Kailey, who carried nothing. The last thing I had wanted to do was to walk in on _that_ little fight.

"Still, you should—"

He was cut off by a knock on the door. I sighed and turned around to go and find out who it was. I was faced with a very solemn looking Dumbledore. I frowned, moving aside to let him in. He instead raised his hand and gestured for me to follow. I looked back to see Sirius coming out of the room as well. He led us back to his office where the other judges of the tournament were all assembled including Percy instead of Crouch. I nodded to him as I took the seat Dumbledore gestured for me.

"What's going on?" I asked, completely perplexed.

"A complication has arisen for this task," Dumbledore stated. "The task dictates that the champions must retrieve something they will sorely miss and has been taken from them. It seems that what Mr. Potter and Ms. Snape would miss the most would be each other. In an answer to this problem, we must have your consent to place one of the two under a sleeping spell,"

"But we don't know how that would affect Kailey," I argued immediately. "She's cursed at the moment, remember?" I added hotly when Karkaroff made a noise in the back of his throat.

"You need not fret over this, Professor Potter, I've done the research myself, no harm would come to either student," Dumbledore replied calmly, giving me a look over his glasses.

"Then why the discomfort in your eyes, Headmaster? You could have asked us this in private," Sirius questioned. "Or is there something else?"

"Nothing else, Auror Black, no, I simply wished your opinions on the matter of the effects this may have on either of them," he reasoned. I found the twinkle in his eye when I checked and that did manage to relieve me some. "They are champions; after all, the contract may force one or the other to awaken should the time limit be reached,"

"You just need our consent to give a slightly heavier spell then, is it?" I asked in understanding. He nodded. "Fine, but it'll be your head if either of them is harmed,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"This can't be done," Ron groaned, slamming the text he was reading shut. "That's why you've not bothered looking, isn't it?" he added, glancing at me as I fidgeted.

"I've told you, none of you are looking in the right book," I glared in reply. Hermione huffed. "It's true! And we don't need a book at any rate, you just need to go and ask my dad—"

"And I've told you; he'll say no, Kailey. He's been in a right state for a few days now and in any case, teachers can't help!" she hissed in reply as Madame Pince shushed us from wherever she was.

"It's not helping if he's not brewing it!"

"A potion?" Harry croaked, looking up from his book with bloodshot eyes. "We don't have time for a potion, Kailey,"

"No, not a potion, just an ingredient of sorts," I explained, again. Try to imagine my fury at realizing the word 'gillyweed' was also a trigger for the curse to go off. Luckily, Harry had reacted quickly when I set the rug in the common room on fire as we returned from figuring out the clue.

"What good will that do if you can't remember its name?" Hermione challenged.

I groaned. "I don't know, but I know it's real!"

"Reality is ever so confusing, wouldn't you agree?"

"Ever so, indeed, dear brother,"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes as the twins appeared from behind some bookshelves. "Didn't realize you lot knew where the library was," I said, grinning to show I was only teasing.

"Where else would we pick up all those great prank spells?" George asked, ruffling my hair. I snorted. "But that's not why we're here,"

"Well, whatever it is, it's distracting. Can't you see we're busy?" Ron grumbled, opening the book he'd previously slammed shut.

"Sure," Fred answered.

"We can see," George added.

"But McGonagall's sent us," Fred informed.

"Already?" I groaned, slumping forward onto the table and covering my head.

"Er…yeah…" George replied, likely switching a glance with Fred judging by his tone. "She wants you and Hermione, Kailey" he added.

I sat straight up and narrowed my eyes. "Me?"

"Yeah, you," Fred answered with a shrug. "Never seen her look so…I dunno, what d'you think, Forge?"

"Uncomfortable?"

"Uncertain?"

"Unhappy?"

"Upset?" I ventured, noticing the pattern. They looked to one another then back at me, nodding. "Fan-friggen-tastic," I grumbled, standing up, trying not to look nervous.

"Keep looking," Hermione encouraged as she stood in response to the looks of dismay on Harry and Ron's faces. "There'll be something," she promised. "And carry as many of these back with you, we'll come back to help,"

"Not likely," I murmured, shaking my head when Harry frowned. "You'll be fine, trust me," I added, trying to grin, but I'm not sure it worked.

We followed Fred and George to McGonagall's office, Hermione shooting me questioning looks the entire way. The twins both looked a bit uneasy as well and promised to go and help Harry and Ron when they returned. They left us at the door to the office and I took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Inside, Cho Chang and Gabrielle Delacour turned to face us. Cho gave an uncertain smile while Gabrielle looked at us both for a moment before whipping her head back to face the headmaster. There were two empty seats next to them.

"Miss Granger, Miss Snape, please, come in," he said, nodding towards the chairs as McGonagall moved to shut the door behind us, putting up silencing spells as she did so. "Now that we are all here, it is time to know what is going on. The Second Task of this tournament is designed to test the champion's skills of magic. They will be sent out to reclaim something that has been lost, something which they will sorely miss," he said, but I raised my hand and he paused, inclining his head to me.

"Sir, I am a champion. Isn't telling me cheating?" I frowned as he shook his head. "How so?"

"The four of you are what the champions will sorely miss," he answered. "The judges discussed it, Kailey, and since Harry's name was listed first on the parchment we decided it was safer to place you under the spell. Harry will be scored as if he were the only champion for this task,"

I nodded to show I understood and Dumbledore looked around to see if the other girls had anything to ask before continuing.

"Please know that no harm shall befall you whilst you are under water. The merpeople have agreed to protect you all as you slumber and to bring you back to shore should your champion not arrive before time is called," he explained. "If, however, you do not wish to participate, we will find a substitute or an object should it become necessary,"

"'Ow iz eet we shall slumbare?" Gabrielle asked quietly in a very thick accent.

"I shall place a sleeping spell upon you designed to wake you once you break the surface of the water," he answered gently to soothe the worry in the little girl's eyes.

"Oui, I will do eet," she answered after a moment. "For my seester,"

Dumbledore nodded and stood up, approaching the little girl with his wand, chanting a few murmured words and circling his wand in front of her eyes until her breathing became so deep and even it was hardly detectable. He looked to the rest of us and I took a deep breath before nodding. He approached and it was entrancing to watch as he slowly spun his wand. Light bits of cloudy looking wisps spun gently in front of my face as I inhaled and let my eyes drift shut…

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"What on earth is he doing?" Sirius demanded as Harry waded out into the icy water. I shook my head in reply and gasped as he clutched at his neck before diving under the water. "What was that?" he asked, leaning forward as if that would help him to see Harry better.

"I don't know, but I don't much like this task," Remus replied from Sirius' other side. "It doesn't seem right that we can't know what's taking place,"

"How will they know if he gets hurt?" Lily trembled, partly for the breeze of February air, partly for worry over her son. "Or if Kailey does wake up under there?"

"I don't know," I answered, leaning into Sirius for warmth. "But they'll be alright; Dumbledore wouldn't send them under there with no help,"

"They shouldn't have been sent into this at all," James reminded me, his eyes staring at the place where Harry had disappeared. We were silent a moment.

"Johnny, anyone ever mentioned that you're not helpful?" I asked, giving him a glare.

"I tell him every day," Lily replied with a small smile.

**All done with this one! Next is 23! Please review? I really like reviews. Really. Okay, I'll get it up quick! Adios mis amigos! **

**:-D**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three: A Second Task and a Second Chance

**Yeah, I know, the chapter title is a bit unoriginal, but I don't own any of this anyways. **

**Kay, enjoy it now! Oh, and we're starting off with Harry's PoV today! Yay! **

_Harry's Point of View: _

The quiet that surrounded me was unsettling. I kept my wand out and kicked as fast as I could, which was impressive with my fins. Why she couldn't've just told me that she was going to be a hostage was beyond me. Not only did I find out first thing this morning, but I found out thanks to Dobby shaking me awake in the library, holding what looked like a snitch made out of worms. I gulped in the water through my gills as I remembered the slimy feel of the gillyweed against my throat. It didn't matter now, in any case. I had to find her, before the end of the hour or…

I kicked harder at the thought.

I dodged fish as they darted by me, gripping my wand tightly every time I saw a large shadow, though they often turned out to be a rock formation or lake-weed. Soon I was sprinting over a meadow of some sort of grass, still with no sign of merpeople. I gave two slow kicks, trying to shake out my legs when my ankle caught in something.

I whirled around to see a grindylow grinning at me with its pointed teeth and horned head. He clutched at my ankle, digging into my skin as I brought my wand around. "_Relashio_!" A steaming stream of water jetted out from my wand and the grindylow shrieked and let go and I raced off away from it before it could summon up some help.

I glanced at my watch to find I still had twenty-minutes to go. When I looked back up it was just in time to realize I was swimming through Myrtle. She giggled, making my stomach clench in unease.

"Having any luck?" she asked, looking around. "Or have you lost your…_partner_?"

I gulped at the meaning of the word but didn't reply as she swam along beside me.

"Well, try over there, then. I'm not coming though, they always go after me, shouting and screeching," she sniffed loudly before diving down into the grasses before I could even attempt to thank her.

Finally, the grass began disappearing to be replaced by swirls of blackish-brown mud. Without warning, I swam past a large stone cave and then another. Soon I was passing by dozens of them, some with faces leering out, others with merpeople waiting outside their door, holding very sharp looking spears. Kailey had been right, the merpeople were nothing like the one in the prefects' bathroom. Their wild, green hair floated around their heads in tangles, their skin was grayish causing their yellowy eyes to appear even wilder. I did my best to ignore them, as I came closer to the singing and I found myself in what must have been their town square.

A large statue of a merman glared towards the ground, holding a spear with three prongs to it. Tied to his tail were Kailey, Hermione, Cho and a little girl who must've been Fleur's sister. I'd've bet money on it.

I swam up to the statue and stared at Kailey for a moment. Her hair had come most of the way out of its elastic and it floated around all four of the girls, the streak of blue showing out prominently against the gloomy colors that surrounded us. I checked my watch again and glanced around, looking for the other three. Where _were_ they? Didn't they realize they only had a little time left?

I turned back to Kailey and started trying to get her bindings undone, but with no success. I glanced around and went up to one of the mermen who stood guard with a particularly lethal-looking spear. I held out my hands, but he only laughed at me.

"We do not help, we only stand guard," he informed me, causing the rest of them to chuckle. I glared but swam back over to the statue. I noticed it was water worn and looked at the ground, finding several bits of rock. I swam to the bottom and grabbed the sharpest looking rock I could find, bringing it up with me to try and cut her free.

She came loose, but stayed floating enough that I didn't have to touch her. I looked around again, but there was no sign of Krum or Cedric or even Fleur. I growled out a sigh and moved to cut Hermione loose when I suddenly felt at least ten pairs of hands on my arms.

"You take only your own friend," the same merman glared, poking me with the butt of his spear. "Leave the others,"

"But she's my friend too! And I won't leave them!" I shouted out angrily, gesturing first to Hermione then to Cho and Fleur's sister. All that came out was a large air bubble that floated lazily up towards the surface as the merpeople laughed as the one with the spear poked at me again.

I looked back at Kailey as she floated gently, Hermione's head still resting on her shoulder. I turned to look towards the entrance to the city, ignoring the song that the merpeople were still singing, though some kept casting me glances.

_Where are they…?_

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Merlin's beard, where the bloody hell are they?" Sirius grumbled, looking as though he wished he could be pacing. "And why did we say this was okay?" he added grumpily, throwing me a glare.

"Because we didn't have a choice," I answered, just as annoyed. "If we did, Kailey and Harry would be in the stands with us, not under the lake," I added, placing a hand on Sirius' bouncing knee. "And that is highly annoying,"

"The hour is up," Lily said quietly, her eyes glued to the giant clock that floated above the lake. It had been counting down, in green numbers, but now it was going up in red numbers. "What happens now that it's over?"

"I don't think it actually ends until they all return," Remus answered, looking between the clock and the surface of the lake.

Suddenly, there was murmuring as the lake began to ripple out towards the center. I was only conscious of leaning forwards when Sirius pulled me back to my seat as I watched a head emerge from the surface. At first, I thought it was Kailey's hair but quickly realized it was too dark and there was no blue streak. Students began cheering wildly as Cedric undid his Bubble Head Charm and helped Cho swim towards the shore where Madame Pomfrey stood with two steaming towels draped over one arm with two glasses of potion floating in the air beside her. She looked entirely unhappy, I noted, as we all clapped and cheered.

"If he's back, then Harry must not be far behind," James said encouragingly, wrapping his arm around Lily in support. She nodded somewhat weakly, but did not reply.

Quite suddenly, not a full fifteen minutes later, a strange shape burst out of the water, eliciting screams and shouts of surprise.

"What in Merlin and Founders name!" I nearly shouted, staring at the shark's head when a human arm brought Hermione to the surface while his wand came with the other. Krum shifted himself back into a human and the cheers rumbled the entire stadium upon realization of what had happened.

"That has to be the worst transfiguration spell I've ever seen," Sirius said, shaking his head. "And we watched Wormtail go through animagus," he whispered so quietly I barely heard him, though I managed a weak smile.

The cheering died down and anxious chatter began to arise as the clock approached half an hour over the time limit. Suddenly, though, from a very different side of the lake, a silvery blonde head emerged, coughing and spitting. She sent up red sparks just as a tiny green creature leapt into the air, aiming straight for her with its small, but sharp horn. There were screams as she dove back under the water and now I did stand up, along with the rest of the stands as we waited with bated breath.

"Oh Merlin," Lily whispered. "Oh, dear Merlin,"

The silence lasted until Fleur managed to get herself to the surface again, though by now Dumbledore had cast out a buoy, shimmering gold from a protection spell, directly to her. She grabbed a hold of it, panting, as his magic pulled her in to safety.

Her wet suit, though clearly meant to be nearly indestructible, was torn and ripped at the legs and arms. Even from our position in the stands, I could make out little lines of red where she was bleeding. Madame Maxime wrapped her in a towel and hugged her tightly as the girl shivered uncontrollably while Madame Pomfrey tried to coax her into taking a potion.

"Oh, Sirius, where is he?" I asked, turning back to face the water, knowing I'd be unable to hold my terror back for much longer.

* * *

_Harry's Point of View: _

They scattered as I put down my second finger, aiming my wand directly at them. Enough was enough, if Fleur was coming, she'd already have been here. There was no way I was going to leave that little girl down here by herself. I swam up unopposed and cut away her bindings, grabbing her by the waist and reaching down to grab the hood of Kailey's cloak.

As we came closer to the surface I noticed that kicking was becoming increasingly difficult. A quick glance told me that my fins were shrinking back down into feet. It also told me that something very large was suddenly beneath us. Another glance and the merpeople disappeared back towards the depths to fend off the giant squid. I kicked harder as each breath tasted more and more like water, not wanting to find out what would happen if the gillyweed wore off before I broke the surface.

Suddenly, something tugged down on Kailey. I looked and saw the grindylow, grinning wildly at me with its razor teeth. It tugged again and all three of us sank. I tugged back as it pulled on her ankle again, not wanting to let the little girl go and have her sink. To my horror, Kailey's cloak slid off. As fast as I could, I reached for her hand. As soon as my skin touched hers, her eyes snapped open.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I dreamt of lazy meadows and light breezes. But it was odd. Like I was flying as I laid down on the meadow, but something more solid than air was holding me. I felt myself sink a little into the grass at one point, but it didn't bother me. Now I was rising up towards the sky, like I was on a broom. Suddenly, though, the laziness shifted as I felt myself fall several feet before flying back upwards. I blinked, confused before I fell again and suddenly I took a breath only to realize there was no air.

My eyes snapped open only to dimly realize something had a hold of my wrist and something else had my ankle. Whatever had my wrist was closer to the surface, and with the surface would come air. I kicked out with both legs, jostling whatever had a hold on me just as I felt rushing hot water go past me. I saw something get struck by it but didn't care. I pulled at my wrist and kicked as hard as my legs would go as whoever was hanging onto me managed to get me closer to the surface faster than my own legs would go. My head spun and reeled as I watched the light draw nearer, willing it to come closer.

I couldn't help it, I choked in water and suddenly it was as though it were irreversible. I couldn't stop my body from thrashing as I only thought of air. I kept choking it in, hoping we were close enough. Without warning, whatever held onto my wrist thrust me upwards and my head broke the surface. I tried to gulp in air as the silvery head of Gabrielle broke the surface next, but I could only cough. She looked at me uneasily as I struggled to keep myself above the water. She reached out towards me but I kicked away as fast as I could manage. No sense in having us both drown. She seemed to understand as she struggled to keep herself up without coughing.

I glanced around. "Harry?" I asked, coughing again.

"I cannot see 'im," she answered, sounding close to panic. "I do not know where my seester iz, she did not come to me,"

I coughed harshly again, cutting her off. "Don't…panic…Fleur's…" I started coughing again, still looking for Harry. "Fine," I managed to choke out.

Finally, Harry came up for air next to me, a scratch lining his neck. "Can you swim?" he asked me, placing my hand on his shoulder as I coughed.

"Slowly," I choked out and he nodded, turning his attention to the younger girl.

The three of us slowly made it to shore, merpeople coming up behind us, some with looks of anger and others with looks of relief. I frowned, confused, but made no comment as I focused on clearing my airways, falling quite far behind the other two. Harry called out to someone and suddenly, I found myself being pushed along rather rapidly by a merman, managing to get me to shore at the same time as Gabrielle and Harry.

"Thanks," Harry said and the merman nodded. I tried to say something but ended up coughing instead. "C'mon," he said, slinging one of my arms around his neck and holding me up.

Fleur was standing just out of the water, holding her sister tightly and speaking to her rapidly in French, Madame Maxime standing not too far behind, rubbing her arms delicately. Without warning, Madame Pomfrey came up to the two of us with towels, draping one around Harry's shoulders first and then mine. "Hold still," she ordered at me and I tried to keep from coughing as she flicked her wrist in a complicated pattern. The remaining water in my lungs vanished and I took several deep breaths, relishing the feeling. "However did you manage all that water, dear?" she clucked her tongue as she spouted the water that had been in my lungs back into the lake.

"She woke up underwater," Harry seethed, throwing a look towards Dumbledore as he spoke to the Merchieftainess in the same screechy tones as the ones that the guards had been singing.

"No Hospital Wing!" I blurted out as she dragged us both over towards where Hermione and the others were all assembled.

"Yes, if I say so," she replied, thrusting a potion towards me. I wrinkled my nose at it. "I thought you didn't want to stay at the wing tonight?"

I drank it all in one gulp. Though the resulting steam made me wish I hadn't.

"Alright, Mr. Potter, your turn," she informed him after inspecting my empty goblet.

"Kailey, what happened?" Hermione asked as Madame Pomfrey inspected the scratch on Harry's neck. It resembled a few of the ones that could be seen on Fleur's arms. I shrugged, all too aware of the 'water beetle' Krum was about to point out.

"No idea, I woke up and I drank lake," I answered honestly, hoping she'd leave it at that for now.

"But that shouldn't've happened," she pressed, worry lacing her tones.

"Except that it did." I answered, looking back over at Dumbledore whose expression turned from slightly amused and proud to confused and back to his annoying oh-of-course-that-would-happen-didn't-I-tell-them-that-? look as he continued conversing with the merpeople.

"Hermy-own-knee, you haff a vater-beetle," Krum said, though he took the liberty of pulling out of her hair himself, laying it on his hand for her to see before lifting a finger and flicking it away, sending it careening back towards the lake. _Serves her right in any case…_

"Thank you, Viktor," she smiled before returning her worried gaze on me.

I opened my mouth to allude to the oddness of the beetle when Pomfrey rounded on me. "Why did you not tell me a grindylow had grabbed you by the ankle as well?" she demanded, gesturing towards my leg. A small trail of blood was heading towards my foot. As if reminded of its own existence, it gave a throb.

"Oh, um, ow?" I said, giving a guilty shrug. "I was more concerned with the lack of oxygen to my brain, to be honest,"

"When exactly did you wake up dear?" she asked as she moved my stocking aside to get a better look at the cut.

"Sometime between Dumbledore placing the spell on me and getting to the surface of the water," I answered, twitching as she poked at my ankle. She gave me a look. "I don't know! I was hardly paying that much attention,"

"She woke up when I grabbed her wrist," Harry answered before Madame Pomfrey could reply. "The grindylow had latched onto her ankle and I tried to pull her towards me but her cloak slipped off so I grabbed her wrist before it could pull her all the way down. That's when her eyes opened."

"You're quite sure of that, Mr. Potter?" we all wheeled around to see Dumbledore standing there, looking slightly tired but mostly pleased that we had all made it back in one piece.

"I'm sure of it," I answered, grumbling slightly. "I was nowhere near the surface of the water when I woke up,"

Dumbledore nodded and turned to the other judges. "A conference before we give the marks, I think,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I laughed aloud at the expression on Harry's face as Fleur Delacour kissed both of his cheeks, though I managed to quiet it some when I caught a look of Kailey's face. She seemed less than thrilled by his reaction. "He's going to be that color for a week," I smiled as Lily nodded in agreement.

"Bloody lucky kid, he is," James said, shaking his head. "Course, not as lucky as me," he amended quickly as Lily raised an eyebrow at him. "I doubt he'll ever be that lucky,"

"Johnny, you've got something brown on your nose," I said airily and he scowled at me. "But what do you think happened to Kailey? She looked as though she couldn't breathe once she surfaced,"

"I have a feeling that she couldn't," Remus replied, giving me a worried look. "Harry couldn't help both her and the little girl at the same time, that's probably why one of the mermen got her to shore,"

"That better not be what happened," Sirius growled. "He promised us both that it wouldn't matter which one of them went under, they'd both be safe,"

"Obviously he was wrong," James muttered as Ludo Bagman separated himself slightly from the judges.

"Ladies and gentlemen! After discussing with Merchieftainess Murcus the happenings under the water we have decided to reward the points out of fifty as follows," he paused to draw a breath. "Fleur Delacour used the Bubble Head Charm but was intercepted by grindylows before she could reach her hostage. We therefore award her twenty-five points," Fleur could be seen shaking her head, hugging her little sister close to her.

"She's lucky to have gotten away based on what we saw up here," Lily said, shaking her head as well as we clapped politely. "Poor girl,"

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble Head Charm, was the first to return with his hostage, one minute outside of the timeline. We award Cedric forty-seven points," wild cheers and whooping sounded throughout the stadium. "Next came Viktor Krum, who used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, though it was still effective as he was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points," it was easy to spot the Durmstrang students as their loud cheers filled in the space around us. Or it may have been the Quidditch fans.

"Lastly, Harry Potter who used gillyweed to spectacular effect! Though he returned last and far outside the timeline, we have been informed by Merchieftainess that he was the first to arrive at his destination. His delay was only due to his determination to ensure all hostages were returned to safety, not only this but one of his hostages was awakened under the water during a grindylow attack. He still managed to get both girls to safety." He paused as the crowds mutterings grew too loud even though his voice was magnified.

"Didn't he realize there was no way Dumbledore would let them actually be hurt?" Sirius asked to no one in particular.

"The majority of the judges feel that this shows moral fiber and should receive full marks, however, his score is forty-five points," he finished to a roaring crowd. Those who could do math quickly realized that Cedric and Harry were tied for first, making a Hogwarts win in all but reality. "The champions will be told exactly what the next task is one month before it is to take place. The task itself will happen at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June. Thank you all for your support of your champions and continue to wish them luck!"

Lily sighed with relief and slumped back into her seat. "Just one more and then it's all over,"

"Thank Merlin," I murmured, watching as all of the kids struggled to get away from Pomfrey. I shook my head in amusement. "Those kids don't know what's hit them,"

"Yeah, well, you're about to go and see her yourself," Sirius informed me and I shot him a nasty look clearly telling him to shut up. But since when did the man listen to me?

"Why? Are you sick?" Lily asked, looking between the two of us before placing a hand on my forehead. I brushed it away quickly.

"I'm not sick," I hissed, looking around to be sure all of the spectators were heading back towards the exit to get to the castle.

"Bull," Sirius said from behind me. "She's been ill nearly every morning and every night since…bloody hell, sometime in December I think it was,"

"Sirius—!"

"No, Keena, enough is enough, you need to know what the problem is. And you need to know now," he said sternly.

"Have you been losing weight?" Lily asked, twisting me so I was facing her under her critical gaze. I rolled my eyes at her, but she ignored me. Her eyes grew very round rather suddenly. I frowned and looked to see what she was looking at. "You're in need of the Hospital Wing," she decided, standing up and dragging me with her.

"But—but, I'm fine!" I spluttered as she led me through the crowd, wand out as she did so, meaning we were snaking through.

"No, you're not," she answered. "How have you not noticed?" the question seemed rhetorical so I didn't reply.

The men caught up with us rather rapidly as we broke off from the crowd entering the Great Hall to get ourselves to the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey looked unsurprised as Lily led me over to a bed and gave me a look as she pointed to it. With her wand. I sat down without further protest.

"Alright, dear, let's have a look since you've conveniently forgotten to come for the past month," she said, pulling the screens around just as Sirius, James and Remus entered the ward.

Lily put up privacy and silencing charms around us while Madame Pomfrey snapped her wrist and I found myself in a hospital gown. "Is this really necessary?" I groaned.

"It is, Professor, especially if your illness hasn't stopped," she informed me briskly. "Don't move this time, that's probably what did it before. The spell only works if you're perfectly still,"

I huffed but stayed still as she did her work. She didn't bother with anything before she performed the pregnancy spell again and I closed my eyes, willing myself to be right. But it only took Lily's quiet gasp for me to realize how wrong I was.

"And the answer is?" I asked in a whisper, not daring to open my eyes.

"Dear," Madame Pomfrey said gently. "Open your eyes."

I took a deep breath and looked at the shimmering mist in front of me. It was blue again, but it was familiar in a way. Like that exact shade had been seen before. "Is it always this color for a girl?" I asked.

Lily and Madame Pomfrey both blinked at this. "The color doesn't tell us the gender of the baby," she said. "Each baby has its own shade of its own color," she frowned as my breathing hitched.

"Keena, is this the exact same color as it was when you found out about Aradia?" she asked gently, though her eyes were narrowed.

"But…how?" I asked, unwilling to fully trust what was in front of my eyes.

"The grave…don't you remember what the grave said?" she asked and I shuddered. "You do, so maybe this is what it meant,"

"But her soul," I argued, not quite sure why I was arguing at all. "The dementor still has it,"

"Maybe it won't by the time she's ready to be born," Lily answered, gazing at the mist. "There has to be a way to get rid of it," she added, beginning to pace before my dry sob interrupted her. "Oh, love, it's going to be alright,"

I shook my head. "I can't do this, not again,"

"Things are different now, there's no Voldemort looming over your shoulder. No dementors loose and running around. Everything is going to work out fine, you'll see," she said, sitting down next to me and giving me a supportive hug. "Don't cry, Keena, this is a good thing," she murmured, gently rocking me and causing the mist to disappear.

I sighed next to her and forced myself to calm down. She was right, after all. Things were very different now. This time, I was at least engaged and I already knew what to name her. Lily was right, no dementors would ever dare enter Hogwarts and there were too many wards for them to bother trying at Potter Mansion.

Madame Pomfrey handed me a tissue and I dried my eyes before taking a deep breath. "I suppose I'd better let that mutt know he's gotten me knocked up again, shouldn't I?" I said, giving Lily the best smile I could manage at the moment. She laughed and shook her head at me. "Poppy, could you change me back first? Not that this gown is terribly uncomfortable, but…"

She raised an eyebrow at me but with another snap of her wrist I was fully dressed in my own robes. She flicked her wrist again to lift the wards around us before moving the screens back. I had to laugh as Sirius and James paced in opposite directions, nearly bumping into one another several times. Remus was staring at the clock on the wall, though he was the first to realize Lily and I were now available for questioning. Or interrogating, whichever came first. He cleared his throat and the other two froze two steps from walking into each other.

I stared at Sirius as he stared at me. I took a big breath before letting it out slowly. "Well, Mr. Black, you've done it. Again," I gave him a hard stare. "And I swear to Merlin and the Founders if you ever impregnate me again before our marriage, I shall have to inflict physical pain,"

He continued staring at me while James and Remus stared at him. "You got my sister pregnant out of wedlock…again?" James looked ready to hex something.

"Oh, Johnny, give it a rest," Lily said, rolling her eyes at her husband. "C'mon, Harry and Kailey are probably looking for us in your quarters," she added. "We can congratulate them and tell them the good news at the same time,"

"Oh no, you don't," Madame Pomfrey said, snapping the door shut just as Remus opened it. "You, Sirius Black, need to make certain that I hear about anything and everything that goes on with your fiancée and your baby girl,"

"I thought I needed to keep you informed?" I asked with a frown. Sirius still looked shell-shocked and hadn't moved.

"Humph, if you were doing that we'd've known about this from the beginning. Oh, and I'll have to give you a list of things you should be doing and eating over the course of these next six months. In fact, I think I'll have a house elf check up on you just to make certain you pay attention," she added, more to herself than to me. "Alright, go along, I'm sure your champions are waiting to speak with you,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

Harry and Ron were pacing back and forth in front of Sirius and Keena's quarters, both seemingly unaware of what they were doing. The party up in Gryffindor Tower was hardly an appealing thing to go to at the moment and besides, Harry's godparents had alluded to the fact that Remus, Libby and Johnny might come for a visit if we waited long enough. So here we sat, waiting for the Marauders to make an appearance.

"Where are they?" I groaned, looking at my watch before pausing. "Damn it," I muttered, shaking my watch, knowing that violence was not the answer.

"What?" Hermione asked looking over from the other side of the door frame.

"My watch is busted,"

"Why didn't you take it off before Dumbledore put you under?"

"Because that would've been smart," I answered dryly, rolling my eyes as Hermione laughed. I sighed. "Harry, c'mere," I said, gesturing for him to come over.

He paused in his pacing and raised an eyebrow at me as he came over. I reached out with my left hand and he gave me his. I yanked down on his arm and raised his sleeve to get a look at his watch. Its little second hand was working just fine. I let go and grumbled to myself as Harry shook out his arm as he continued his pacing regiment.

A thankfully short time later, the Marauders were spotted down the hall, Lily and Keena chatting, Lily looking a bit happier than Keena I thought. She and Sirius had hooked arms and he looked like a bomb had just been dropped.

"Wonder what his problem is," Hermione said, voicing her curiosity out aloud. Keena kept glancing at him nervously while James would sneak in a smirk mixed with an almost mutinous glare.

"I'm not sure, but I think we'll find out," I replied, standing up as they came closer.

"Hey kids," Remus greeted as Lily pulled Harry into a hug, only releasing him upon his request for air. "Kailey, what happened?" he asked as Lily gave me a much gentler hug than the one she had bestowed upon Harry as James clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Why do people keep asking me that? It's not like I was awake for it!" I grumbled, rolling my eyes while the adults chuckled. Actually, Sirius' expression hadn't really changed too much yet. His laugh had sounded more like a choke.

"She woke up when I grabbed her wrist," Harry explained as Keena opened the door to let us all in. "She was fine right up until then," he added, shooting a curious look at Keena as she went over to a cabinet and returned with a potion for Sirius, who was now sitting on the loveseat.

"Was it skin to skin contact?" Keena asked as Harry and I exchanged glances.

"Yeah," he replied, either confused about why that mattered or confused by the look on Sirius' face as he stared at the goblet in front of him.

"Maybe that's why," Lily suggested, sitting down on the arm of the chair James occupied while Remus took the other chair. "Did you touch her skin before that?" Harry shook his head, sitting down on the couch next to Ron and Hermione. I perched on the arm of the couch, leaning one arm along the back of it.

"I'd bet it had to do with her being a champion. She wasn't meant to be rescued in this task, but rather be the rescuer," Remus said with confidence. I just shrugged. "Other than that, how was the rest of the task?"

Harry explained about the eeriness under the water and how the merpeople refused to help him. He also mentioned Moaning Myrtle briefly, blushing as he did so as James teased him about being the ghost's crush. Throughout the entire story, though, Sirius seemed to relax very little. Keena would smile as Harry told the story, but kept shooting nervous glances at her fiancée. I frowned, wondering what could possibly be the problem.

"And then she kissed me…twice," Harry muttered, sounding embarrassed by the thought of Fleur kissing him. I rolled my eyes internally, just in case Lily caught me in the act.

"We saw that, actually," James replied, grinning wickedly. "What's it like to have a part veela kiss you?" he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. Harry turned Weasley red and hid his face while the rest of us laughed. "That bad, eh?" he was blushing so badly at this point, that you couldn't even see his scar.

"Well, so long as we're embarrassing Harry about the facts of life," Keena said, throwing a look at Sirius. "We've got some news to tell you lot," she finished, sounding a bit aggravated that Sirius was still being so non-responsive.

Hermione and I perked up immediately, though Ron and Harry looked slightly confused when we started to giggle at the smiles on Lily and Keena's faces. Obviously, boys had no idea what the only possible answer to such feminine gestures could mean. Hermione and I were just waiting for the words.

"Sirius and I are going to have a baby," Keena announced, her smile a little shy and nervous, though there was some excitement there, just not as much as I had anticipated.

"I'm going to have a cousin?" Harry asked before Hermione or I could form the words. He was sitting up now, just as excited as Hermione and I were. "Boy or girl?"

"A girl," Keena replied, her smile growing at Harry's enthusiastic response. "She's due in August," she added.

"Is that why Sirius has turned catatonic?" I asked with a grin.

"I think he's just a tad shocked," Lily replied as Keena gave him another look. James grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, though Sirius gulped. "Perhaps a bit intimidated as well," she added as an afterthought.

"I'm not!" Sirius protested weakly. "It's just…a surprise is all,"

Keena snorted. "Right, because you haven't been convinced I was pregnant since December," she rolled her eyes as he turned red.

"So how old is it going to make you feel to be called 'dad' then, Mr. Auror Black?" I asked and Sirius lowered his face into his hands as the rest of us laughed.

**Well that's the end of this one! Any questions? Go ahead and put 'em in a review and I'll get them answered when I put up number 24! Thanks for reading! **

**:-D**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four: Perfect Mystery

**I disclaim sending my kudos to JK every day. **

**I'm sorry it took so long, but I've had to deal with the passing of a friend along with adapting to college life very far away from my family and I thank you in advance for your patience. Much love to my readers! You guys rock! Enjoy it please?**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"I am dead serious," I stated as they dragged me to double potions the day before Hogsmeade. "If you make me go in there I will undoubtedly cause an explosion of varying magnitude,"

"Quit being so melodramatic," Ron grunted as he gave my arm another tug as Harry pushed me from behind.

"No, I shan't quit being so melodramatic!" I cried dramatically, throwing my free arm over my face. "Tis truly dreadful what we are about to behold-eth," Hermione rolled her eyes at me while readjusting the way in which she was carrying my bag, which I had dropped as I had made my effort at an escape.

"You always act like this before potions," Harry reminded me. "And it's always dreadful to begin with," he added, much more lightheartedly than I would have liked.

"Says you Oh Chosen One," I grumbled. "But, no matter how vile my dear old dad is to you, at least you know for a fact he didn't like you to begin with. He just plain old stopped liking me,"

"Chosen One?" Ron repeated, smirking and raising an eyebrow at Harry who I can assume turned red as he gave another shove. "Where'd you come up with that?"

"I'll tell you on one condition," I said as the dungeon came into view. I could already hear Pansy snickering with the other Slytherin girls.

"That being what?"

"Release me from thou harsh grasp-eth,"

They let go and I turned to walk the other way, finding myself blocked by quite a solid wall by the name of Severus Snape. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Attempting to cut class?" I was relieved that he didn't bother using a name when he spoke to me anymore. It had bothered me at first when he had started calling me by my old name but it felt better when he stopped using names completely.

"I think, sir, that if one were to successfully cut class one would make up an excuse involving being sick, maybe even going to the hospital wing for verification purposes. I, however, have an extreme dislike for the hospital wing and would never willingly enter that ever treacherous territory. So, sir, I am not cutting class, merely looking to see if I dropped a coin, I thought I heard something,"

Thankfully, he seemed to be in a decent mood and his lips quirked before his angry scowl was back in place. The four of us scurried behind him as he entered the classroom, followed quickly by the Slytherins and our fellow Gryffindors. The snickers from the other side of the dungeon would grow loud before they shushed one another as Snape turned around to see what was going on. I rolled my eyes as Pansy pointed something out to the other girls and did my best to not make my potion explode. I felt like Neville, I was so on edge. I could only imagine what Rita had written up this time.

"Hey, Granger," Pansy hissed across the room while Snape's back was turned. Hermione glanced up at her as she began slicing ginger root, glaring coldly at the Slytherin girl. "You might find something of interest in here," she continued, showing us a copy of _Witch_ _Weekly_. She glanced back over to see Snape's back still turned before she slid it to the edge of her table, within Hermione's reach.

Hermione began to reach for it, but I grabbed the arm closest to me. She paused and retracted her arm. "What?" she muttered. "Don't you want to know what's going on?"

I shook my head. "Not here, it can wait,"

"What's the problem, Snape?" Pansy hissed across the aisle, cackling with her friends. I rolled my eyes but noticed my dad stiffen as he bent over Neville's cauldron. "Afraid to get caught by daddy?"

I smirked as Snape turned and looked directly at me before looking over at Pansy. His eyes narrowed as he headed over to the Slytherin girl who was still holding the magazine out to us, unaware of my dad's lethal glare.

"Parkinson!" he growled as he approached her. She blanched before scrambling to hide the magazine while looking like she was doing her work at the same time. "I do not tolerate cheating in my classroom, as you well know," she looked up at him with an attempted innocent look on her pug face. I managed to turn a snicker into a cough as Hermione and I continued preparing our ingredients.

"Sir, I would never—"

"Then what, pray tell, were you doing, Ms. Parkinson?" he asked, his voice doing its ultra-creepy-whisper-thing. I'll admit I was a little surprised; he rarely used that voice on his own house.

"Granger and Snape were having trouble with their potion, sir, I was telling them I would never cheat," she answered almost immediately. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised; Slytherins were supposed to be cunning, though I'd call this a rather blatant attempt at an excuse.

Snape presented her with a sneer. "Are you insinuating that my top two potions students needed help to prepare ingredients with the instructions written on the board?"

She did the worst possible thing she could do, as I knew fully with having made the mistake myself; she gulped.

"Detention for lying to your head of house, Parkinson, eight o'clock, Monday in my office," he informed her. She sulked, scowling in my direction as my smirk turned into a full blown grin. "And I shall confiscate your magazine," he added, holding his hand out for it.

She handed it over and he began skimming through it as we all continued with our potions, Hermione kept shooting me curious glances but didn't say anything. There was no further drama throughout the class, for which I was incredibly grateful, and we were able to complete our work in silence. Suddenly, with not but five minutes to the end of class, there was a knock on the door.

Snape slammed the magazine down on the desk before coldly commanding the intruder to enter. Karkaroff glided up to the front of the room and Harry nudged me, silently giving me a questioning look. I just shrugged and shook my head. It was useless information; we already knew both of them had been Death Eaters, the others just didn't know about the marks on their arms. After a whispered argument at the front of the classroom and a quick gesture to the magazine on the desk in front of him, Snape ordered Karkaroff to leave him to his teaching.

"We will talk later, Severus," Karkaroff told Snape, though it sounded more like a threat, just before he headed out the door. Snape nodded and Karkaroff closed the door with a snap just as the bell rang out.

"Granger, Sn-Macauley, remain where you are," he commanded. I blinked and Hermione and I exchanged glances as the rest of the class cleared out, with the exception of Ron and Harry. "Potter, Weasley, leave," he ordered and I may have been imagining it, but I thought he said Harry's name with a tad more distaste than usual. Well, it wasn't hard to imagine that being possible.

The two of them gave us sympathetic looks before heading out of the classroom, shutting the door behind them. Hermione and I turned to look at Snape, who gestured for us to come to the front of the room.

"What, if I may ask, is this all about?" he snarled, brandishing the article in front of our faces.

"Honestly, sir, I've got no clue; I've avoided looking at articles recently," I answered with a shrug. "I'd wager it involves me and Hermione in one way or another," I added, trying to keep the acid out of my tone.

"For your information, Rita Skeeter has written the two of you out to be involved in some complicated love pattern of sorts," he informed us, his nose flaring nearly as well as McGonagall's was known to do. "She writes: '_Unfortunately, dear readers, poor Mr. Potter was not enough for the promiscuous Kailey Snape, his famed partner in the Triwizard Tournament. She seems to be seeking forgiveness now, however, after her tragic incident during the Yule Ball with the treacherous Leon Lapierre of Beauxbatons, but Mr. Potter has moved on to another girl. Sassy Hermione Granger is a fourth year at Hogwarts and is reported to be fast friends with these two lovers. But does Ms. Granger simply have a taste for fame? This reporter thinks so as Ms. Granger has been reportedly seeing Viktor Krum, Quidditch sensation and Triwizard Champion for Durmstrang_.' She goes on to explain, in detail, about how _you_, Kailey, and Mr. Potter took a bath together at one point before mentioning how _you_, Ms. Granger, seemed to have brewed a love potion for both Mr. Krum and Mr. Potter. Wherever would she get such ideas?"

"She said I did _what_?" I growled, snatching the magazine from my dad's hands.

"I'll assume that it isn't true, else Gryffindor will find itself short five hundred points," Snape returned with a hiss.

"But how did she know all of this?" Hermione asked, peering over my shoulder.

"Excuse me?" Snape almost shouted, now completely alarmed.

"Dad, calm down, we had to figure out the clue for the egg and that required us to be in water. We used bathing suits and Harry stayed a good two feet away from me almost the entire time," I answered, rolling my eyes. "But that doesn't explain how she found out," I mumbled.

"What do you mean 'almost'?"

"And how did she know Viktor asked me to come to visit?" Hermione plowed on, ignoring Snape altogether.

I sighed. "I'd tell you, but…"

"Kailey, what do you mean 'almost'?"

"But what? She needs to be stopped! This is utterly ridiculous!"

"I know that! But you know I can't alter the future—"

"If he was 'almost' two feet away, then how close was he?"

"—and who knows what would happen if I did!"

"I know what will happen if I don't get an answer soon,"

"The point is, she's not an actual threat; she's only attacking our reputations,"

"With some accuracy at that!" Hermione grumbled.

"How accurate is she?"

"I know, I know, but…there's nothing for me to tell you, Hermione, you need to figure it out," I told her.

"Me?" she squeaked. "As in just me?"

I nodded. "If Harry says the right thing. I'll lay the trap if he doesn't step up to the plate," I added at her doubtful look.

"Could one of you pause this discussion long enough for me to gain back some small bit of sanity?" Snape requested angrily, settling a glare on both Hermione and me.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"I'd like it very much if we could somehow arrest Rita Skeeter," I told Sirius, who was very concerned at the moment with a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. I had taken a copy of _Witch_ _Weekly_ from a Slytherin girl (she had been teasing a first year Gryffindor with it) this morning and had only just had time to read up on the latest scandal, mainly to keep myself in the know. I wanted to be prepared if Harry or Kailey, or even Hermione it seems, were to let off some steam in one way or another.

Sirius looked up from the _Prophet_ with a sympathetic look in his eye. "Don't we all?"

I sighed and tossed the magazine onto the table, too lazy to get up to put it into the fire. "Anything of interest in there, love?" I asked, leaning over the arm of the couch to get a look as he sat in the armchair.

"You shouldn't lean over like that!" he reprimanded, jumping up from the chair and setting me straight, crumpling the newspaper as he did so.

I gave him a strange look. "Er…why not?"

"You'll squish her!" I blinked at him before I burst out laughing. "This is not funny!" he said seriously. "You need to be careful,"

"Sirius, love, calm down, I won't squish the baby," I said, reaching up to tug on his arm. He sat down next to me and I placed a kiss on his cheek. "She's healthy, Poppy told us so,"

"Yes, well, good for Poppy, but she's not trained in this field!"

"That's why I've got that appointment tomorrow with St. Mungo's, Sirius," I reminded him gently. "Merlin, if you're a wreck now, what are we going to do in August?" I laughed, snuggling close to him.

He huffed and shook out the _Prophet_ in front of him. I read the first few lines. "What's the matter with Crouch?"

"Don't know, don't care," he grunted, turning the page.

"Well, I think you should care, considering everything that's going on," I said, taking a hold of the page and flipping it back, scanning it quickly. "How can no one have seen him since November? Someone must have gone to check on him,"

"Apparently they haven't," he answered with a shrug.

"Well, they should if they're worried enough to write this article," I replied. "What if he's dead and no one knew?"

"Bastard deserves no less,"

"Sirius," I said in a warning tone. "You know that no one from the Light would ever harm Crouch, it would have to be a Dark wizard, and that would only be very bad,"

"Even so, I can't feel sorry for him," Sirius responded giving me a look. "You know why I can't do that, Keena," he added and I sighed, leaning my head against his shoulder, tracing a pattern on his wrist which had tensed against the page.

"I'm not asking you to feel sorry for him," I said quietly. "I don't think I could feel any remorse myself, but I wouldn't want him murdered," I glanced back up at him to see that he was breathing deeply with closed eyes. "I think we should have Dumbledore send someone to check on him,"

Sirius sighed and pulled his wrist out of my grip so he could wrap his arm around my shoulders. "We have no reason to do so," he replied. "If we were to do anything, it would be to check with Weatherby," he chuckled and I rolled my eyes with a grin.

"Poor Percy," I smiled. "But he's too proud; he'd never admit to anything being wrong it would spoil his ambition," I shook my head. I remembered his tutoring sessions; they had been about as necessary as if Hermione came to see me twice a day.

"Will it make you feel better if I talk to Dumbledore about this?" he sighed, looking down on me.

"Yes, I really think it would, especially since we can't ask Kailey," I answered with a nod.

"Actually…that could be better," he said with a grin, setting the paper down and sitting up.

"Huh?"

"Think about it; if she can tell us about what's going on then there probably isn't anything wrong. But, if she can't tell us—"

"—then there is something wrong and whoever cursed her is connected to Crouch somehow," I finished excitedly, standing up and beginning to pace. "We could go and check now," I said before the clock over the mantle began to chime.

"Why don't we just wait until tomorrow?" Sirius asked with a grin. "It's late; you should get to bed,"

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, but you've got to come with me. We've got Hogsmeade duty again in the morning, before that appointment,"

"You mean later this morning," he replied smartly as the last chime sounded.

"You could always sleep on the couch," I answered with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes at me and stood up to follow me into the bedroom, blatantly ignoring my half-threat.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"I'm sorry; you want to know about whom?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Sirius and Keena, who had cornered Harry, Ron, Hermione and me just before we entered Honeydukes to restock on sweets.

"Mr. Crouch," Keena repeated. "We caught his name in the Prophet last night and it mentioned him not being seen for quite some time. We were wondering if it were anything to be worried about?"

"But you don't like…him," I replied, not wanting to risk saying his name just in case it activated the curse again. "Why would you worry?"

"Does that mean there isn't anything to worry about?" Sirius asked, sounding as if he wanted to say 'I told you so' to his fiancée. I bit my lip and looked at the ground, wondering how best to phrase the issue.

"It would be very difficult to check up on him…" I said quietly. "I don't know if he's still to be found at home." That seemed safe enough; it wasn't a part of the imposter's plan that his father would escape so he couldn't know to stop me from warning anyone. There were still two months before he would end up in the forest, though. "I don't know how much I can actually _say_, but he's bound to escape somehow,"

"Escape from where?" Sirius asked, frowning.

"His…his…" I trailed off, noticing the tell-tale headache beginning to throb as a reminder. "Winky wants to go there," I blurted out and the headache disappeared.

"The house-elf?" Hermione asked, sounding very confused as Harry and Ron swapped worried glances. I only nodded in reply, thankful that I could still breathe. "But he gave her clothes; she doesn't belong to him any longer,"

"So where would she want to go?" Ron asked, sounding confused.

Keena gasped, her eyes going wide. "You only promised to interfere with death, right Kailey?" I nodded; relieved I hadn't had to spell it all out in so many words. "Sirius, we have to get Dumbledore to listen, to send someone,"

"I'll go," Sirius said. "I could go now, in fact," he added, glancing at his watch.

"No!" I almost shouted, gaining some attention and odd looks from the students who were heading into the candy shop. I continued on quietly. "No, no, you can't go! Not alone, are you insane? Think about it, who could possibly keep him locked in…who would he need to escape from?"

"Kailey, relax, I'm a trained Auror, I doubt anything could actually happen," he replied calmly and a bit smugly as well.

"James was a trained Auror," I returned quietly. "It didn't help him at all,"

The adults exchanged worried glances while my friends just turned to stare at me in shock. It was a harsh comparison, but there was no way I was going to let Sirius walk into a trap and die. They needed an actual plan, not just a random visit. Dumbledore needed to be in on it as well, and I needed to convince them to keep the imposter out of it. Then again, you would think it'd be obvious by now who my oppressor was, I certainly avoided him enough.

"Alright, we'll let Dumbledore know, don't worry," Keena said after a moment. "In the meantime, why don't you four go on and enjoy the day?"

"Just Dumbledore, though, right?" I asked looking between the two of them.

"Yes, just Dumbledore, like usual," Sirius answered. "Now, go on, nothing will happen,"

The four of us headed into the candy shop, me going in last to give the adults one last look though they were heading in the other direction, heads bent close together and holding hands. If I hadn't spent the summer with them, I would've assumed they were just behaving like a regular couple, but I was certain that they had just begun a long discussion.

"Kailey," Ron called and I turned back and followed him inside. "What the bloody hell was that all about?" he muttered as we roamed the shelves of the sweets. Harry was at a different section with Hermione, arguing quietly about house elves by the look on her face when he rolled his eyes.

"It was about the same thing anything is about when they want to ask me a question," I replied picking up a box of Honeydukes' finest to read the label. "It's a good thing too, I wasn't sure that I'd be able to explain it right,"

"That'll burn a hole through your tongue," he said, reaching out to pluck the acid pop from my hands as I examined it. I smirked and swiped it back.

"You honestly think that's for me?"

He raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "I suppose not," he conceded a grin of his own forming. "Though I doubt you'll be able to get it to him,"

My smirk widened to a grin. "Watch me,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I jumped when I realized I had shredded the pamphlet the Welcome Witch had given to me when Sirius and I had entered St. Mungo's into nothing more than a few bits of parchment. I stared at the pile vaguely, still lost in my thoughts over Crouch. Dumbledore had been startled by our news and agreed to get in touch with a few members of the old Order that he explicitly trusted to check out the old family's home. Sirius had wanted to go with them but Dumbledore hadn't allowed it. I thought it had to do with Sirius' past with Crouch but Sirius thought it had to do with my pregnancy. Dumbledore had opted to politely ignore each assumption. So now we sat in the waiting room, me shredding the pamphlet and wondering over Crouch and Sirius sitting with his knee bouncing and an arm across my shoulders.

"Keena Potter?"

I looked up relieved at the sound of Amanda's voice calling through the silence of the sickly clean prison. I mean hospital.

Sirius and I stood, ignoring the looks from the other patients as they began mumbling to one another. Apparently no one had recognized us until my name was spoken. We followed my healer friend into an obscenely white room with a recliner chair sitting right in the middle. To one side was a table holding various bottles which contained a number of colorful potions, smaller chairs planted on either side.

"Go on, take a seat, Keena," Amanda said, the smile carrying through to her voice. "It doesn't bite," she added as she closed the door behind us with a snap.

I blushed at her teasing tone and sat down, allowing Sirius to take one of my hands in his as he stood. "So, what are we doing today, Healer?" Sirius asked, though you could easily tell that he used the term 'Healer' loosely.

"I'll just be checking on how the baby is developing since you were so stubborn for the first three months and this is your first real appointment," she said as she sat down and began sorting through the colored vials.

"You say 'first' as though there will be a second," I sighed, annoyed. "I can't just up and leave the school all of the time,"

"Which is why this is the only appointment that I'll have you come here for," Amanda grinned. "The rest will be in the Hospital Wing until you return home for the summer. I can continue home calls until the baby is born if you like," she added.

"Really?" I sat up happily and Amanda laughed at me.

"Yes, really," she smiled.

"But I thought you only did that for special circumstances?" Sirius asked, one eyebrow raised slightly in confusion. "Or is she a special circumstance?"

She sighed. "It's a media thing, to be honest," she explained, finally choosing a pale blue potion. It looked as though there were floating bits of glitter inside of it. I winced as she uncorked it. "You saw what happened the moment I called her last name. It would get to a stressful point if you had to worry about the reporters every time you needed a check-up. That aside, I thought you might like the family to be in the know as well,"

She went to hand me the vial. "What in Merlin's name is that?" I asked, wrinkling my nose in distaste immediately. She rolled her eyes at me.

"It's a nutrition potion. As I said, you have missed the first three months or so according to Poppy and I'll assume you weren't eating so healthily if you were vomiting as much as your fiancée says you were. You only need to drink it once so long as you maintain a proper diet from here to the end,"

I sighed dramatically and accepted the vial. I sniffed it and nearly gagged. "Will I be able to drink water as soon as I down this?" I asked and she sighed shaking her head. "Why not?" I did my best not to sound as though I were whining.

"I don't want you to wash it out of your system before it can get to the baby," she explained. "As soon as you leave the office, you may drink a whole gallon if you like,"

I stared dejectedly at the smelly substance before holding my breath and gulping it all down in one go. "Urgh…that stuff is terrible!" I choked, handing the vial back into her hand. Sirius smirked at me and I glared at him. "Don't you dare look at me like that, Sirius Black; this is all your fault,"

Amanda laughed openly at his abashed look. "Well, now that the first potion is out of the way, we can move along to the next," she said happily. I gaped at her but she continued grinning. "Don't worry, Keena, it isn't for you, it's for Sirius."

"What?" he asked, looking at Amanda as though she were insane. She just smiled as she handed him a bright pink potion.

"Most men have a difficult time keeping up with the mood swings," she shrugged as he looked down his nose at the potion. "This potion was developed in order to help them deal with the stress and to keep them calm enough to handle anything she throws at you."

"Literally or figuratively?" he asked his voice full of sarcasm.

"Both," she replied with a wicked grin.

"I didn't have to drink anything last time," he mumbled before gulping it all down at once. He shivered before handing it back to the seasoned Healer.

"It hadn't been created yet," she answered with a shrug. "Now, I am supposed to give you a detailed description of what you can and cannot eat, but considering I know Poppy I'll spare you that list and let you read this on your own," she said briskly, handing me a parchment listing what I should be eating and how much of it. She took out her wand and stood in front of me. "Sirius, if you could please stand back; the spell won't work if someone else is touching her," she explained and Sirius nodded. "This is an analytical spell that will just let me know the size, weight and health of the baby. If you want, I can tell you the gender as well,"

"But I thought we already knew the gender? The mist was the very same color as it was before," I frowned, biting my lip.

"Skilled as Poppy is, she doesn't handle many pregnancies at Hogwarts and I'd like to make certain for myself," she replied gently. "Trust me, Keena, no harm will come,"

I sighed and stilled, closing my eyes as she murmured the incantation. After a moment I opened them to find myself facing the same bright blue mist. I looked over at Sirius to see him grinning stupidly as it disappeared. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he shook his head, stepping closer and placing a kiss on the top of my head. "The verdict?" he asked Amanda as she placed her wand on a bit of parchment I hadn't seen on the table before.

She didn't reply immediately as she looked everything over. "I'm not sure," she said with a slight frown.

"What do you mean?" I asked frowning as Sirius' hand tightened around my own.

"Well, the baby is healthy but…I'm not sure," she repeated. "I've never gotten a reading quite like this one before. It's all…" she struggled for a moment. "Perfect. It's rather startling," she looked up at the two of us as my frown deepened.

"This wouldn't have to do with the fact that the mist was the same color both times…would it?" I asked, feeling my heart beat increase. "Poppy said that that had to do with the soul of the baby…the color was the same for…Aradia."

Amanda sat quietly for a moment, her eyes giving me a calculating look. "Perhaps…I'll look into it. Maybe Remus could help look as well?" It was obvious she was referring to Lily in the same breathe. "Regardless, the baby is healthy and that is all that matters for the moment," she said, flicking her wand at the parchment which disappeared in a puff of smoke.

I sighed, still troubled, rubbing my stomach unconsciously. "I suppose you're right,"

She nodded. "Yes…er…would either of you mind terribly if I shifted the conversation a moment? Damien was called out not long before the appointment. He sent a note to me since he prefers that I know about his missions at all times…something about Crouch?"

"How secure is this room?" Sirius asked quietly after giving me a quick glance.

"Confidentiality spells are warded all over these rooms. Its hospital policy," she answered. "Why?"

"We have it from a reliable source that Crouch's illness is not so…innocent," I answered carefully. "Only trusted people have been asked to look in on it, but Dumbledore refused to allow Sirius or myself go along,"

"Understandable, Keena, you are pregnant if you hadn't noticed," I scowled at her as she gave me a teasing grin. "How much undercover is this in any case?"

"We are the only two members of the staff that currently know of the situation…actually, I'd bet Mickey figured out something was up, Snivvy as well," Sirius answered.

"Not Mad-Eye?"

"No, he's more off his rocker than usual,"

"He not only performed all of the Unforgivables in front of his fourth years and up, but performed the Imperius _on_ the fourth years at least. He also turned Malfoy's son into a ferret," I explained.

She stared at me for a moment. "A ferret?"

"Yes,"

"Merlin, if it weren't so disturbing it would be hysterical," she replied. "And Dumbledore is just letting all of this go on? Has he finally lost his mind? Who shows Unforgiveables to students?"

"Apparently Mad-Eye does," Sirius answered. "Barmy old coot," he added in an undertone.

"When should I expect Damien home, then?" she asked returning us to the other unpleasant topic our conversation had turned to.

"Within the day I would—"

Suddenly the door to the office flew open and a nervous looking intern burst inside, panting. "Healer Bell, you've got to come quick!" he was nearly stuttering over his words, but Amanda had started towards him the moment the door had opened.

"I'll owl you two later," she called behind her as she raced after the intern.

Sirius and I looked at one another before standing up and exiting the room. As we drew near to the fireplace we were forced to pause as a band of healers rushed by with a man on a levitating gurney, Amanda among them as she brandished her wand over his head. They disappeared after a moment and all was quiet in the corridor.

"You don't suppose that was Crouch…do you?" I asked Sirius.

He frowned before steering me towards the fireplace. "Let's head back to Hogwarts; Dumbledore will let us know,"

**There's the end of this one! Again, I apologize for the long wait, but I had to get back in the mood for writing. Reviews make me smile! (And update faster usually!) Next comes 25! **

**:-D**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five: Detention

**Wow. I'm at chapter 25 of my fifth story and it still is not mine. Seriously, somebody review if this disclaiming is not necessary anymore! Personally, it seems redundant after so long…**

**Happy Thanksgiving! To your enjoyment! (Raises glass of sparkling cider and bows head in toast) enough silliness, now please read and enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Ms. Snape, you cannot continue getting into these sorts of fights," the aged headmaster stated calmly, staring down his crooked nose at me. I fidgeted in my seat, uncomfortable with his stare. "I understand that you are feeling a tad stressed and perhaps a bit taken advantage of, but this behavior is unacceptable,"

"I know, sir," I answered quietly, playing with one of the burn holes that now adorned my robes, staring at my ash-covered hands. "But this time I didn't cast the first spell," I felt that this point was incredibly important to make.

He sighed. "That is not an excuse, and you know that, Ms. Snape,"

"But, sir, why should she have let him attack her without defending herself?" I glanced over at Harry's blackened face as he sat with his arms folded, staring at the headmaster in challenge. "Besides, the fight was unfair in their favor, not ours," he added.

"Mr. Potter, please try to understand. The two of you have managed to place five fellow students into the Hospital Wing all at once. This may be your first offence, but Ms. Snape has already been involved in one large scale duel this year. I expect better behavior, from each of you as a matter of fact," he explained.

"It isn't our fault that Slytherins can't duel properly," I mumbled. "They should have crushed us, sir," I tacked on hastily when he shifted his gaze back to me.

I swear I saw his lips quirk up for a moment before his serious expression resumed dominance over his features. "Regardless," he said. "I believe a month's worth of detentions are in order here as well as fifty points each from Gryffindor,"

"Fifty?" I cried, managing to rip a larger hole in my robes which I stared at in dismay as Harry took up the argument again.

"But sir, they were just as guilty for fighting as we were!" he implored. "Why is it we're being punished for defending ourselves?"

Dumbledore sighed again. "Do not worry, Mr. Potter, Slytherin House will be docked points as well and they will all serve an appropriate amount of time in detention,"

"But not as much because they lost the fight? Sir, that's so unfair!" I complained, not really caring that he could easily use the whole 'life's not fair' argument against me.

"Ms. Snape, this is not about fairness," he answered. "Now, please go up to Gryffindor Tower. I trust Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger will be wondering after the two of you. Your detentions will be determined at a later date," his order was clear. "And Ms. Snape, please do be more careful in the future,"

It was all I could do to keep from rolling my eyes at the old man behind his academic desk. This was just so unfair. We had come back from Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione before heading for the Room of Requirement to practice for the third task with Cedric. The three of us had practiced for well over an hour before we decided we should all head to dinner. Cedric had parted ways with us earlier on so that he could meet up with Cho so it was just me and Harry that the five Slytherins had found walking from the Room back up to Gryffindor Tower to find Ron and Hermione. I had bumped into one of them as we rounded a corner and he shouted something about my being a 'muddy half-blood' and ruining his shoes. I had ignored him, or tried to, when he sent a hex my way. The duel had escalated until Harry and I were standing back-to-back firing off any spell we could think of, which were plentiful considering we'd just spent our time practicing a huge assortment of curses.

Considering our new array of hexes and shields, the two of us had managed to make it out with only burns and scrapes, though at one point one of the Slytherins had sent a huge fireball at us which destroyed the shield I'd hastily put up. That was why we were both covered in soot. The backlash from the shield and his curse had been what finished off the remaining Slytherins.

"I don't know when he expects to keep us in detention; we've got to keep practicing!" I mumbled unhappily as Harry and I made our way obediently back to the tower.

"Maybe whatever the detention is will have to do with the task?" Harry suggested hopefully, though it sounded more like a question. "Any ideas?"

"No, I haven't got a clue what Dumbledore's detentions are like…I didn't know that they existed at all, actually," I said slowly. "Oh Merlin, they're gonna kill us!"

"There's no way they could kill us," Harry reasoned, though he sounded nervous. "I mean…honestly, they got into more trouble than us," he finished sounding flustered.

"Do you honestly think that'll work? Besides, Keena is pregnant which means she's bound to be hormonal and slightly irrational," I argued.

"Maybe she'll just be so overwhelmed with joy that we came out more or less without a scratch?"

We paused as we reached the Fat Lady and stared at one another. The Fat Lady snorted.

"If you're talking about the Keena McIntosh I _knew_, the two of you are worrying over nothing. However, if you're talking about the Keena Potter I _know_, then the two of you are not worrying nearly enough,"

I glared at her as Harry barked out the password. She just snickered at us as she swung forward to allow us inside.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Sirius knocked on the headmaster's office door and we were granted immediate admittance. We entered to find Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, hands together in front of him as he gazed intently at us. "I trust everything was alright at the Healer's?"

"Yes, Amanda is going to come here for the next few months as needed," I answered with a slight smile, unable to shake the feeling that he had dire news to tell us. "She said that the baby is healthy, as healthy as she can be,"

"Ah, so it is to be a girl," his eyes twinkled. "Congratulations,"

"Thank you, sir," Sirius answered, his arm wrapped around my shoulders.

"Now, why don't you sit? We have much to talk about," he replied with a nod, gesturing to the two seats in front of his desk.

I looked down at the cushion and wiped off what appeared to be ash. "A burning day?" I asked before looking up as Fawkes gave an indigent squawk from his perch. I frowned.

"That is part of what I wish to discuss," Dumbledore replied, sounding tired.

"Merlin, what did she blow up this time?" Sirius asked, though he managed to keep from rolling his eyes as well as keep the smile off of his face.

"They didn't blow anything up…that I am aware of…" he trailed off. "I shall have Filch look into it. In any case, young Mr. Potter and Ms. Snape found themselves in yet another duel. This time they placed five students in the Hospital Wing,"

"All at once?" Sirius asked before giving a low whistle at Dumbledore's nod.

I shook my head. "That's hardly anything compared to what the four of us got up to,"

"Yes, the _four_ of you. This time it was two fourth years against several sixth and seventh year students." Dumbledore replied. "I cannot allow this behavior to continue, especially from Ms. Snape."

"Professor, _you_ are her legal guardian at the moment, we just watch her for you," I answered. He gave me a look. "But of course you never explained that to her, did you?" I managed to keep myself from snapping at him or rolling my eyes.

"I did not think it necessary; it is but a legal technicality, her father still has the last say as far as I am concerned," he answered with a tone of dismissal.

That wasn't good enough.

"Sir, that's ridiculous. Don't you think you've left her out of the loop enough? The poor girl was concealed from the fact that her mother doesn't want her with the excuse of expenses just after getting back from a very exhausting mission. A year later, the man who had suddenly become her father has to give her over because he's put in a difficult position and you don't have the decency to tell her who she 'belongs' to?"

"We don't know that what her mother said was an excuse, Keena," he reprimanded gently.

"The hell we don't! Do you know what it's like to not be able to look at your daughter? To talk to her, or hug her? No mother in her right mind would allow something as common as money to interfere for so long of a period. It's been what? Three years now? Not to mention she wouldn't _need_ an airplane, just a portkey and Fawkes would be happy to provide that, I'm sure. And she's had absolutely no contact with her at all! Not one word. So unless magical mail is suddenly costing oodles of galleons…" I trailed off as the twinkle in his eyes went out. I resisted the urge to say 'I told you so'.

He sighed and my temper cooled slightly.

"Headmaster, I know you believe her father should have the last say," Sirius began, hedging rather than being blunt as he usually was. "But the reality of the situation is that he can't. Not until we know everything that's going on. It has to be you,"

"I wish it weren't so," he replied, hanging his ancient head in what looked close to being shame. "But alas, wishes rarely do come true," he sat up straight in his chair.

"What else did you want to talk about, Professor?" I asked, much more gently than I would have a few minutes ago.

"Does it by any chance have to do with a certain arrogant prick?" Sirius asked and I rolled my eyes and contained the smirk that was dying to escape my lips. Dumbledore, however, frowned.

"Assuming you are speaking of Barty Crouch, then yes, it does." His tone made it clear that all was not well.

"What happened?"

"No doubt you witnessed Mr. Crouch being brought into St. Mungo's as you were leaving. Orion has promised to get in touch with me as soon as they can determine his condition. Security at the castle, meanwhile, will be heightened. I have requested that the Ministry provide another Auror as well as allow me to access information on an ex-Unspeakable so that he will be able to assist in the case that any more curses be performed. The students will be told that he is simply another Auror. Both will be under your command, Sirius," he looked over his half-moon spectacles as if that would stop the outrageous grin that had flooded over Sirius' face.

"Uh huh…and you know that this ex-Unspeakable will cooperate how, exactly?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the old man. It wasn't as though it was easy to find Unspeakables. The only reason he even knew that Lily, Remus and I had been ones was because we had offered to use our positions for the Order. Technically, we shouldn't have even allowed that, our friends had only known since they had needed to sign a contract while living with us that they would never pry into our work nor tell anyone else about what we did.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind being closer to the castle at the moment," his eyes twinkled.

"Right, because that won't get the students to ask questions about it," Sirius snorted. Dumbledore shrugged. "Honestly, sir, I highly doubt he'll do it,"

"What about the Auror? How do you know we can trust one of them?" I asked, deciding to ignore the Remus situation for the moment. It was highly unlikely that the werewolf would agree anyway.

"She is rather new to the unit, but I have confidence in her skills," he answered. "I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting on with Nymphadora,"

"Andy's little girl?" Sirius asked incredulously.

I snorted. "Really, Sirius, she was working by the time I was an Auror. Don't you remember seeing her just after that whole fiasco over the summer? And she isn't exactly 'new' either, Headmaster," I answered. "Tonks was new just after I quit my teaching job here. We got to do the newbie work together. When will you get in touch with her?"

"Before the day is out; I'd rather deal with the extra security swiftly than to allow Ms. Skeeter to further blemish the school's image. The next time she's spotted within these wards you have my permission to arrest her for trespassing, Sirius," Dumbledore informed him with a nod.

"Finally," Sirius mumbled. "Course, that means I'll have to find her first,"

"Three pairs of eyes are better than one," I answered with a grin. "Four if Moony actually shows up,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I growled at one of the under-year Slytherins as she completely stopped in the entrance to the Great Hall Monday morning to glare at me with her friends. She blinked, apparently not understanding the phrase and I rolled my eyes, following the other three into the hall.

News of our duel had spread through the school faster than the news of that Keena and Sirius' re-engagement had, which was saying something. The Slytherins were going out of their way to give us angry looks or mutter under their breath, but the rest of the school just goggled at us whenever we walked by. I think they must have been somewhere between utter disbelief and complete anger. Of course there was no telling what the other two schools thought, at least not yet.

"Good morning, Viktor," Hermione said politely as we took seats near the Durmstrang students at the end of the table. He smiled at her, managing to pronounce her name almost completely correct, and nodding to the rest of us.

"Is it true vot the other houses have been saying?" he asked and it seemed that every red cloak leaned closer as he did so.

"What exactly have they been saying?" Harry hedged when I ignored the question in favor of piling my plate with breakfast.

"That you both have placed ten first-years into the Hospital Ving this veekend," he answered. I paused with the syrup bottle upside down and looked at the foreign students before glancing down the rest of the table where some movement had also stopped.

"Um…first-years?" I asked, laughing a little. "Well, that does explain the staring,"

"So it is not true?" he pursued.

"No, it wasn't ten first years, it was five upper years," I answered shaking my head, causing a murmur to break out all along the table. "Besides, they started it,"

"Vhy vould they duel two champions?" one of the other boys asked, looking shocked. "Did they not realize that you both vould vin?"

I shrugged. "I bumped into one of them and he got angry that I 'scuffed his new shoes' and the five of them went off,"

"Vere they punished?" Krum asked just as an owl landed in front of Hermione.

"Yes, but not as much as us," Harry answered as Hermione took the letter cautiously. "Who's that from? And Kailey, you're getting syrup everywhere," he asked as Krum's attention turned to her as well, in confusion. I jumped and looked at my plate before turning the bottle right side up and pushing my plate away in favor of getting a less…sticky one.

She didn't answer at first as her face turned red and her eyes narrowed. "Well I never!" she cried, throwing it down onto the table just in time for several more owls to land, some of them landing in front of me.

"No way am I dealing with this," I grumbled, accepting the letters addressed to myself and leaving them unopened. "Hermione, don't bother with anymore of them unless you know the handwriting," I added quickly as she weighed a thicker looking envelope in her hands.

"But what are they?" Ron asked as he pushed the syrup filled plate aside as another owl touched down on the table.

"Hate mail," I answered before cursing as another owl dumped my milk over, drenching the entire table. "This is one of those mornings where I think I hate people,"

"Is that hereditary?" Fred asked, leaning past Angelina a few seats away.

"Shove it,"

"I guess it is, Fred," George laughed.

"Look, unless you've a mind to help us out over here, I suggest you both return to your breakfasts," Hermione said with an air of dignity. "Honestly, how many more can there be?" she asked, looking up. I glanced up as well and groaned at the sight of circling owls.

"Merlin, is that a Howler?" Ron asked just as the owl dropped it. It was addressed to both of us.

I tried to get my hand into my pocket but realized Harry was sitting on my robe. "Move over," I cried and Harry jumped up in surprise as I fished my wand out of my robe and aimed it at the letter as it began to smoke dangerously. "_Incendio_,"

I sighed as the letter burst into flame, cutting off the beginnings of a shrill shriek. The fire went out on its own thanks to the spilled milk and I slumped into Harry's shoulder before stiffening and straightening back up as he froze. "Sorry,"

"No, its fine," he answered quickly.

"Ms. Snape, what is going on over here?" I nearly jumped at the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice. I looked up to see her nose flaring.

"I was saving our eardrums, Professor, I swear!" I answered, throwing my hands in the air as a sign of surrender. "Hermione and I are getting hate mail," I added, gesturing to the growing pile of letters.

The Professor's eyes narrowed as she took in the scene. "Very well, but please do not use magic in the Great Hall again, I would like Gryffindor to finish with _some_ points after all,"

"Professor, can't you do anything about the letters?" Hermione asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears, as McGonagall turned to head back to the head table where Keena and Sirius were watching with interest.

"I shall have a word with the headmaster," she answered with a nod, holding her hands out for the offending pieces of parchment.

"I am sorry for you, Her-my-oh-ninny," Krum said as McGonagall walked away. "I know vot it is to have hate mail,"

"Thank you, Viktor," she answered, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her cloak. "C'mon, you lot, we'd better get to class,"

The four of us stood up and headed out of the hall, ignoring the whispers that had begun following us as well. "I really can't wait for all of that to stop," I mumbled, shaking my head as we got onto the grounds.

Harry snorted.

"No, I mean it, Harry, this is just ridiculous," I complained.

"Welcome to my life," he answered and I rolled my eyes.

"You don't get hate mail, though," Hermione pointed out, her voice shaking ever so slightly and Ron awkwardly patted her on the back. "Thanks, Ron," she muttered, reaching into her pocket for her handkerchief.

"Maybe not, but I do know what it's like to have the whole school hate you," he replied and Hermione gave another sniff.

"Harry?" I said and he turned to look at me in confusion. "I don't think you're helping," I finished in a slightly sarcastic whisper as Ron started trying to comfort Hermione. "I'd let Ron take it from here," _Though he might make it worse too…maybe I should keep an eye out…_

Harry smirked. "You say that like we didn't plan it that way," he answered in a whisper.

I frowned. "How'd you know she'd get hate mail?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "That isn't what I meant, you know,"

I raised an eyebrow and slowed down enough that Ron and Hermione went by us. "Then what did you mean?"

"Well, I remembered what you said last year about them liking each other and then it was obvious at the Yule Ball how jealous he got, so I got him to admit it." he grinned, obviously pleased with himself. My jaw dropped. "I know; I didn't expect it either. But I told him to lay off her some and see if it worked and so far it has. Haven't you noticed that they've been sitting next to each other in class, the common room and at meals?"

"Um…no, I guess I didn't…when did you become Mr. Match-maker?" I smirked.

He shrugged. "I dunno, but I wasn't actually supposed to tell you all of that so don't tell Hermione alright?"

I shrugged as well. "Whatever, if it gets them together sooner I'm all for it," I answered. "Then again, as far as I know they haven't actually gotten together by sixth year," I added quietly as we approached the green houses. "But if it means less fighting in the common room and consequentially less time playing relationship-therapist with her…"

Harry smirked again. "You're welcome,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View:_

"What do you mean you won't switch quarters with her?"

I jumped as the door to our quarters slammed open Monday night. I looked up to see Remus glaring at Sirius, who rolled his eyes as he walked over to me a dropped a kiss on my cheek. I raised an eyebrow, but he shook his head so I shrugged and turned back to the practice sheets I was grading.

"I thought that that was exactly what I meant, Moony," Sirius answered, landing next to me on the loveseat.

"But I can't possibly share with her!" he cried. "She's…she's…"

"Not privy to your furry little problem?" Sirius prompted. I rolled my eyes.

"No, love, he's going to say that 'she's a girl' first," I grinned, winking at Remus as he scowled at me.

"This is hardly amusing,"

"On the contrary, it's very amusing," Sirius answered with a grin. "Keena, sit back, please, I don't think you should bend over like that,"

"Sirius, I'm pregnant, not ill, we've been over this. The baby will be fine and I could stand to stretch a bit. Besides, I'm hardly showing yet," I answered, gently slapping his hands away from my sides as he went to lift me upwards.

He huffed but said nothing.

"Can we get back to the issue at hand please?" Remus growled, apparently not amused as I was about Sirius' over protectiveness.

"No, Moony, I'm not switching,"

"Why not, Padfoot?"

I snorted. Remus only ever really used our nicknames when he either was in a really good mood or if he really wanted something. Personally, I was pretty sure it was the latter in this instance.

"Because Moony, my fiancée is pregnant and even though she doesn't get morning sickness as much now that she's finally seen a healer," I huffed in indignation but he ignored me. "I still don't think I should leave her alone," Sirius explained, sounding like he was actually serious for once.

I looked up to see Remus opening his mouth. "I agree with him, Remus," I said quietly. "I'd much rather he stay with me. You and Tonks are adults, Remus; you can handle being her roommate for a few months. She's not the type to care about furry problems either,"

He sighed and sat down on the chair across from us. "I can't believe I agreed to all of this," he muttered. "Did you know I was nearly accosted by a few Ravenclaws on my way to your office today, Sirius? This is really a bad idea,"

"What did you tell them?" I asked, wondering why Ravenclaws were even in that part of the castle to begin with.

"The story; Dumbledore asked me to return to help this mutt keep things in order. Few people know that we lived together for years and even fewer remember that the three of us had been good friends."

"Except for the teachers," I grinned. "Poor Snape looked over his shoulder a total of five times tonight at dinner and even tested his food before eating it,"

"Don't tease me, love, you know how much I'd love to prank him!" Sirius groaned.

I smiled and Remus rolled his eyes. "Somehow I doubt that Kailey would appreciate you saying that, Sirius," Remus replied dryly.

"Trust me, Moony, she's one of two things keeping me from pranking him," Sirius answered sadly.

"What's the other?"

"The tournament,"

"Way to dampen the mood, Sirius," I said, slapping his knee with the parchment I was checking over. Then I sighed. "It's almost over at any rate and then we can go home for the summer and relax. Well, _I _can relax, at least until August,"

"What makes you think I won't be able to relax?" Remus asked innocently.

Sirius barked a laugh. "Moony, trust me, you've never lived with this woman while she's pregnant,"

"What are you trying to say, exactly, fiancée dearest?" I asked with a smile, batting my eyelashes. My smile transformed into a grin as he gulped and Remus laughed. "That's what I thought. Now, Remus, are you feeling better about sharing a room with the lovely Tonks?"

"No, I just don't see why we have to be put into the same quarters," he grumbled.

"Don't you think you might be insulting her by all of this? You're overreacting and being a bit rude if truth be told," I replied dryly. "And Dumbledore already explained that he would prefer not to use the Founders' quarters because that would make them much more public than they should be; you know he uses them for families to hide in during 'troubled times of woe'." Remus raised an eyebrow at me "His words, not mine,"

He grumbled a sigh under his breath but didn't bother to reply. It was a sign of defeat. "I suppose you're right, I have been a tad standoffish…" Sirius snorted and Remus shot him a quick glare, but he stood up all the same. "Any word on what Dumbledore has planned for the two of them yet?"

I shook my head. "I tried to get it out of him at dinner, but he ignored me. I think they're with him now,"

Sirius shook his own head. "A detention with Dumbledore…Merlin, I'll bet that hasn't happened since he was a Transfiguration professor and that was what? Fifty years ago?"

"Somewhere around there," I mumbled. "Poor souls," I added, scribbling a note on the bottom of a page. "Still, she's going to kill them this summer with both worry and anger,"

Both men shuddered in agreement.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"I can't believe we're doing lines," I said to no one in particular, stretching my hand and rotating my wrist as the parchment became blank again.

"Count yourself lucky, brat! In my day you'd be washing the windows of all the towers, inside and out the muggle way!" snapped Phineus.

Harry snickered but said nothing as I rolled my eyes. Dumbledore had left us to our tasks in his office while he went up the stairs that must have led to a little room of some sort. He'd left no instructions concerning talking, but saying that until our lines stayed on the parchment we had to keep on writing "I will not succumb to anger and blow up the grounds nor shall I give in to peer pressures." He mentioned something about this not being the only type of detention we'd receive, nor would it be the only time we did lines. I was just glad the lines made sense, to be honest.

"All of that worrying for nothing," Harry mumbled in agreement, shaking his head. "Though I'm not too eager to find out what we're doing tomorrow night,"

"Oh Merlin," I grumbled, the old wizard's name coming out like a curse.

"What?"

"I just misspelled 'succumb'…do you think that'll count against me if I forget a 'c'?"

"You've been at this how long now and you just now started misspelling words?"

I refrained from flicking my quill at him in order to splatter ink onto his parchment, but only because I didn't want the portraits to tattle.

At the end of a grand total of three hours, the ink finally dried onto the parchment and Dumbledore reappeared at the top of the small staircase. A fledgling Fawkes squeaked from his shoulder and flew clumsily through the air to land on my shoulder. The headmaster came down the stairs and stood in front of our desks, reading over the parchments with great care it seemed before he looked up at the portraits.

"Well?" he asked quietly.

Several of them burst out making it impossible to understand anything before Dumbledore held up a hand for silence and the pointed at Phineus. "The brats were hardly grateful enough for this to be their only punishment, Dumbledore! It was almost like they were complaining that it was only lines,"

Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm sure it was quite the let down," he answered, eyes sparkling as he pointed to the next portrait.

"Be that as it may, I believe the two should be doing something more practical with their time; they do have quite a task ahead of them," this from a long-faced witch with long black hair and a blue-green robe. She scratched her nose in an almost dignified manner, though there was some dirt under her fingernail.

"What do you suggest, madam?"

"Manual labor, of course!" she cried. "Something to do with magic as well,"

"Hm…" he hummed, stroking his beard. "I shall have to ask you more of this later, Professor Spore. In the meantime, the two of you are free to go. If Filch should give you trouble tell him to come and speak with me. We will begin again tomorrow at the same time."

We were nearly back to the tower when Harry spoke up.

"When she said 'manual labor'…you don't think he's going to actually listen to her…do you?"

I paused and turned to stare at him. "Maybe it's a good thing you don't have Quidditch practice to worry about,"

**And so ends this chapter! I'm sorry for the wait, but such is college life I suppose (not to mention the wicked writer's block, but that sounds more like an excuse…). Thanks again for reading and here's to a happy start to your holidays! Next will be 26!**

**:-D**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six: Mothers, Old and New

**Another day, another disclaimer. **

**I sincerely hope you've all been enjoying it, sorry about the delay! Here comes our next chapter! (Oh and happy belated holidays!)**

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Wotcher, Professor," I started at the title as I sat at the head table one morning at breakfast. Tonks was wearing spiky blue hair today as she sat down next to me. I rolled my eyes and grinned.

"Good morning, _Nymphadora_,"

Her hair shifted quickly into fire engine red as she glared at me. "What have I told you about that name?" she nearly hissed.

I rolled my eyes again and chuckled. "What have I told you about mine? You can't complain until you get mine right,"

She wrinkled her nose at me. "I've told you; I feel odd calling you by your first name,"

"It isn't as though we've never worked together before," I pointed out. "You had an easier time of it then,"

"No, I did not," she argued, her hair shifting to chin-length purple. "If you remember right I always called you Auror," she continued as she pulled a plate towards herself.

"Well, I'm not an Auror any longer and I'm barely a Professor to the students, much less to you, Tonks," she looked relieved when I didn't mention her first name. "Call me Keena, please,"

She smiled at me for a moment and was about to say something when she blushed and her hair flashed raspberry red before she quickly turned away. "Good morning all," I turned to see Remus pulling up a chair next to Sirius who was far too involved in his breakfast to notice anything out of the ordinary.

"Morning, Moony," he grunted as Remus rolled his eyes.

"Padfoot, will you ever learn not to talk with your mouth full?" he asked, shaking his head. Sirius shrugged and I gave him a whack on the shoulder along with a look.

"He most certainly will," I growled when he looked at me innocently.

"What's the rush?" he asked, his mouth still full, with another shrug. I scowled at him and he swallowed. "What? It isn't as though she'll notice that right away or anything,"

"Who won't notice?" Tonks asked, leaning forward slightly in her curiosity.

Sirius and Remus exchanged looks before staring at me for a reaction. I sighed. It was bound to get out sooner rather than later anyway. "The baby," I answered quietly with somewhat of a shy smile.

"No?" she gasped, though a huge grin broke out on her face and her hair rapidly turned into a bright baby pink. "When are you due?"

"The end of August," I answered. "But I'm still not sure how to tell anyone," I added a bit self-consciously and her eyebrows furrowed. "It won't look very good will it? Me a teacher and Sirius a school Auror with us not married, only engaged…some people might see that as…immature," I settled for the word, though it didn't seem to quite explain it.

"Ah, I see," she nodded. "You're worried about the implications this'll have for Harry, yeah? Especially once Rita Skeeter gets wind of it,"

"Exactly, and, like I said, we work at a school full of impressionable teenagers," I sighed, pushing the remains of my breakfast towards Sirius, no longer feeling any appetite.

"If people aren't already making a fuss that you and Sirius are living together, I doubt they'll respond negatively to the two of you having a child together," Remus answered sagely.

Tonks, meanwhile, began coughing on her drink and I threw Remus a glare while Sirius bit his lip to keep from laughing at the now embarrassed werewolf. "Sorry," Tonks spluttered as I gave her a pat on the back. "Sorry, I'd better go," she nearly fled from the hall, but managed to make it look as though she were merely moving at a brisk pace, only pausing to apologize to Snape as she crushed his foot on her way out.

He limped up to the table grumpily and sat down in the seat she had vacated. "What in Merlin's name was she so hurried about?"

"Remus made a fool of himself," I answered and Snape rolled his eyes.

"It was bound to happen; he's lived with you for how long?"

I disdained to reply, instead leaning past him to catch Dumbledore's eye as he arrived at the table. "Headmaster, any news?"

He sighed heavily as he sat down. "I'm afraid so, but it is not good news,"

"Has he…passed?" I asked quietly, fully aware that there was little noise to cover the question at our own table.

"Not yet,"

"But he will," Sirius stated rather than asked, taking my hand underneath the table while Severus rubbed his left arm absent-mindedly. Dumbledore made no vocal reply, but bowed his head instead.

"Are we any closer to finding out who has done this?" Remus asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Snape asked a trace condescendingly.

"If it were, she would no longer be cursed," Sirius pointed out.

Snape scowled at Sirius before looking at Remus. "It obviously has to do with the Dark Lord. He is rapidly gaining strength," I glanced away as he rubbed his left arm again.

"That's all well and good, but we still don't know why he's targeted Crouch," I answered. "Other than everyone he threw into Azkaban," I added quickly before any of them could get a word out. "I've looked into it some more and this curse she's under needs to be reactivated every two months. Crouch hasn't seen her since the first task,"

"Then maybe there is a chance that she's only blocking herself mentally at the moment," Remus suggested and Dumbledore tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Perhaps…what would happen if she were to accidentally reactivate the curse a second time?" he asked and I frowned.

"Sir…we don't actually _know_ if it was Crouch," I said slowly. "Nothing different _should_ happen but regardless I wouldn't think it wise to test her like that,"

"This is ridiculous," Snape muttered. "Didn't she warn you about Crouch in the first place?"

"The healers have found vestiges of the Imperius Curse. He may have performed the curse on her unintentionally. Or rather, without knowing he was doing so,"

"I don't like the idea," Sirius said, putting in his two Knut's worth. "The tournament is nearly over, what could any warning on her part possibly do now?"

"Lives are at stake," Dumbledore murmured grimly.

"You knew that the moment that parchment burst from the goblet,"

I had never seen the headmaster look quite so ancient.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"I know it's still active, though," I said, dumbfounded by the request. "Really," I said when the headmaster continued his twinkly-eyed gaze.

"There, you see?" Keena said, pausing as she paced behind me to place a hand on my shoulder. Sirius was off patrolling the castle at the moment so it was just the two of us and Dumbledore. "There is no need for her to harm herself if she knows it,"

"Is that all you needed or can I go? Harry and I have to practice…unless we're having another of your detentions, sir?" I asked, really hoping the answer would be a negative. If I ever was magically tethered to the underside of one of the moving staircases again to clean them it would be too soon.

"Unless there is something you wish to convey to me, or try to convey," he answered as Keena's grip on my shoulder tightened ever so slightly, as if in protest.

I sighed. "What about a deal, sir?" he steepled his fingertips and nodded for me to continue. "I help you check to see if the curse is still active, first on things that have already passed and then to things that may or may not come to pass in exchange for the cancellation of the remainder of our detentions, since what I'm doing has the potential to harm me."

"No," Keena said firmly from behind me. "No, I will not allow that," Dumbledore opened his mouth to protest but Keena cut him off. "Or are you going to go against me as her official guardian?"

I frowned and turned to look at her. "Official? I thought…I thought you and Sirius were—"

"Regardless," Dumbledore interrupted sternly. "Keena, Ms. Snape may be able to tell us something worth knowing."

"Um…wait a minute. Before I do anything, what do you mean 'official'? If the two of you aren't my current guardians, who the he—who is?" I looked between the two to find Keena glaring at the headmaster so I settled for giving him my look of complete confusion.

"What if we were to strike another deal on the matter?"

"No, sir, if my mom decided to take back custody from my father I'd like to know," I replied.

He gave a heavy sigh. "No, she has not,"

"Oh," my brow furrowed and I felt my throat closing in, though not in any way similar to what the curse had done to me. "Was she given the option?" Another sigh and the feeling unexplainably intensified.

"She was,"

"Oh…" I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to look at either of them before opening them and my mouth in a rush. "Just after the third task someone will die," the searing pain in my head numbed out the clog in my throat. I lurched forward in the chair as I tried to gulp in enough air to scream as my throat burned before all was shrouded in black…

I came awake slowly, realizing dimly that I was lying down and that there was far too much white in the room for it to be my dorm. I brought a hand to my forehead, which was throbbing faster than any rhythm to the drums of the Weird Sisters. I shut my eyes to the light, which helped some but made more obvious the yelling from the other end of the ward which was making it all the worse.

"She could have _died_, Dumbledore! And for what? Some stupid mind game?" The voice belonged to Keena, which made me wonder about what mind game she was referring to. Apparently Dumbledore didn't either.

"I am unaware of such tricks, Keena," his voice wasn't a whisper, but he wasn't shouting the way she was.

"Keena, maybe you should calm down?" Sirius' tone made it sound like a question. But then, he wasn't in the office when it happened.

"The hell, you were unaware!" she shouted over Sirius anyway. "You knew that if you told her about her mother like that, she would do anything to not have to think too much about it!"

"I was not the one to bring up guardianship, Keena,"

"You should have bloody told her about this already! Not try to cop out of it with some 'deal'! You're bloody lucky that Fawkes moved as quickly as he did! Frozen like those damn statues in the Ministry, you were!"

_But what had Fawkes done? I just remember the black…_

Dumbledore mumbled something I couldn't catch, but it only seemed to serve to make Keena angrier. "Don't you _dare_ pin this on me! I may not have reacted first, but neither was I last! You are supposed to be her guardian, Dumbledore, start acting like you care about the girl and _not_ the damn future!"

"Professor Potter, please do keep your voice down," Madame Pomfrey finally made herself known and I sat up with the intention of getting a headache potion. "Oh, good heavens, Ms. Snape, lay back down or at least lean back," she cried, making me wince, as she bustled over and firmly pushed me back down to the pillows.

"You may want to mark this day on your calendar, Madame Pomfrey, because I would really like a potion," I mumbled, my throat only catching in the slightest. "My head is pounding,"

"I really shouldn't wonder at that, dear," she said, hurrying away to her office to fetch the necessary potion. I was just hoping that it wasn't about to become a plural.

I looked back towards the other side of the wing in time to see Dumbledore's robes sweeping out of the door, snapping it closed behind him. Keena gave the door a last glare before she and Sirius came over to my bed.

"I'm sorry, Kailey," she said, sitting down. "I didn't mean to wake you,"

"It's fine," I answered as clearly as I could.

"You really shouldn't've done that; you don't know what affect the curse could have," she said, though not sounding as though her anger was directed at me. "Would you like to talk about it?"

I hesitated long enough for Madame Pomfrey to bring the disgusting concoction over to my bed. "Drink it all and that headache should go right away; it's a fresh batch,"

"Severus had to make a fresh batch?" Sirius' voice was colored in surprise. "He told me he didn't have any last week after that night shift where we chased down the Weasley twins,"

"Chased? It was more like sprint in the wrong direction," Keena mumbled with a small smile at her lips.

"I suspect that has to do with your past relationship, Auror Black," Pomfrey chided. "The headmaster had him make some just the other day,"

"Course he did," the expression on Keena's face made me wonder if Dumbledore knew what he had gotten himself into. "Merlin, wait until the sister-in-law hears," she growled.

Sirius and I both winced. "Keena, I don't think it'll much help us if Dumbledore is murdered," Sirius said gently, though Keena only rolled her eyes.

"Even so," she mumbled. "And I've changed my mind, young lady, we are talking about this," she added as Madame Pomfrey headed back to her office with a nod to the two adults.

"I'd really prefer not to," I answered, feeling dazed and tired. "I don't even know what happened just now. What does Fawkes have to do with anything?"

Keena paused and exchanged a look with Sirius who shrugged and nodded. She sighed and looked at me. "He saved your life," she whispered. "Your reaction this time was much more severe; more so than I thought was possible," she seemed to mutter the last bit to herself before she continued. "Fawkes swooped over from his perch and landed on your lap, trying to lift your head so he could cry into your throat. I realized it and forced your head back but you were already unconscious. I thought it was too late until Fawkes trilled against your neck and you started breathing again,"

I inhaled slowly and deliberately. "So I…I almost died? But you could've brought me back, right?"

"I don't know how the curse would have reacted, but it doesn't matter now, Fawkes took care of you," she answered firmly.

"And Dumbledore just sat there," I stated numbly. The ancient wizard had always seemed so infallible…even with the mistake he would make in the coming year. "Why is he in charge of me?" I asked, suddenly and unaccountably afraid of the answer. "Would he have done the same for any student or is it because of the future?"

Keena looked away but Sirius leaned forward. "Listen to me, he may have made a mistake today but that does not mean that he doesn't care about what happens to you,"

"So long as he gets his fill of information," I added, anger beginning to course through my veins. "Maybe he lied about my mom; maybe she doesn't even have a clue about what's going on and he's just pretending,"

"I'm sorry, Kailey," Keena replied, shaking her head gently. "Albus Dumbledore may be a lot of things, especially considering today's actions or inactions, but never has he been a liar."

"No," I shook my head. "I mean, why wouldn't she want me back? It was only the primary custody she gave up; she still had some say, right?"

"Kailey—"

"Don't," I glared.

Keena sighed and shook her head, but Sirius spoke up. "You need to accept this," he said quietly. "I understand what you're feeling, but denying everything that's happening won't help you,"

"I won't believe you," I stated, realizing how stubborn I was being. "I won't. You'll see; I'll go back to America this summer and everything will be fine. It's been a few years, I'm sure they can afford for me to visit," I rationalized.

"You can't go back, Kailey," Sirius answered firmly. "It wouldn't be safe for you, first of all. Second of all, you don't have anywhere to go back to,"

"Sirius," Keena said in a warning tone in response to my poorly hidden gasp. "We can talk about this summer later," she said to me. "Don't think about it right now, you need to get better,"

"I am better," I answered stubbornly. "My head doesn't even hurt and neither does my throat. I've got to find Harry so we can practice,"

Keena eyed me suspiciously for a moment before nodding and standing up. "Sirius, go on and tell Poppy that she's well enough to go," Sirius raised an eyebrow at the statement but rose and headed for the nurse's office without question as Keena closed the curtains behind him.

She flicked her wrist and I was back in my Hogwarts robes and uniform. "Don't practice too hard; I'm not sure the castle can handle much more of your anger," her tone let me know she was only half-joking. "Oh, and you don't have any more detentions with Dumbledore but if you ever pull a stunt like that again you'll be grounded for life,"

I nodded and fled the wing without a backward glance. How could they even suggest such a thing about my mother? Wasn't it bad enough what the _Prophet_ had been writing about her? I snorted to myself and shook my head. They were all being ridiculous; Dumbledore had only said it for the reaction and I had fallen for it that was all. I would know better next time.

I arrived at the Tower in record time just as the portrait was opening. Ron froze with one foot out the exit before he looked up. "Oh, there you are! We were just about to go looking,"

"I told you I was with Dumbledore," I answered, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, but you've been gone a good three hours," he answered, stepping back so I could get into the Common Room.

"Have I?" I asked, both eyebrows rising on their own. "Guess I was out longer than I thought," I half mumbled.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

"Well," I said, leading the four of us over to the vacant couches. "First you have to promise me that you won't be upset with me,"

She only crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes further as she sat down in the armchair. "That's probably one of the worst ways to start a conversation with Hermione," Ron informed me as he plopped down onto the couch on my left while Harry sat at my right. "Trust me,"

I laughed as Harry shook his head while we watched Hermione's jaw drop and Ron look over just in time to see her glare transfer over to him. He gulped. "Anyway," I said, hoping to distract her. "Dumbledore wanted to see if the curse was gone, which was stupid because I knew it wasn't, but whatever. Then he and Keena argued some and my guardianship got brought up. Apparently, Dumbledore is my legal guardian at the moment,"

Ron's eyebrows rose while Harry frowned. "Not Keena or Sirius?" Hermione asked, voicing what I assumed to be the consensus. I shook my head. "Why not?"

"Don't know, didn't ask," I answered with a shrug. "But I did ask why not my mom," I paused and gulped, looking at the floor.

"Oh, Kailey, she's not—?"

"No, nothing like that!" I said frantically, waving my arms to cut Hermione off. "Merlin, no, but they've all been telling me that she doesn't want me or something," I laughed. "It's so ridiculous; why wouldn't she want me?" I cut my laugh off when it began to sound slightly hysterical and I cleared my throat. "But it was just so sudden of them to say and I sort of blurted out one of the secrets that I can't tell and I…well, let's just say I'm indebted to Fawkes now,"

"Dumbledore's phoenix?" Ron asked, frowning. "What for?"

"The curse almost killed you, didn't it?" Harry asked quietly as Ron and Hermione both gasped.

"That's right; phoenix tears can save you," Hermione whispered.

"Merlin, Kailey, that was bloody thick of you to do," Ron shook his head and I frowned at him before Harry claimed my attention.

"It wasn't thick, it was selfish," he stated, giving me a stern look. "Just because you'd gotten some bad news doesn't mean you get the easy way out,"

"Excuse me?" I blinked. "I'd hardly call choking on air 'easy', Harry,"

"Maybe not, but it's a hell of a lot easier than finishing the Tournament isn't it?" he challenged. "Because after that's over you're going to have to face the fact that you're Dumbledore's ward, not your dad's or your mum's," his green eyes were fierce, but he wasn't yelling and he didn't sound truly angry. But once the words sunk in they stung.

I shuddered once before curling my legs up onto the couch. Within moments Harry was giving me a tight hug as I cried, Ron awkwardly patting my back. Hermione handed me her handkerchief, muttering something that was meant to console me, but I couldn't really digest the words. _Sirius was right, I _can't_ deny it…they wouldn't lie and they wouldn't say it unless they all knew for sure…especially Dumbledore…he wouldn't even take me if it weren't a last resort…_

"Did you know," I paused to sniff once I had run out of tears for the moment. "That the first summer I left, none of them even said goodbye to me? Not even my little brother. They just let Hagrid come and collect me. It happened again during that second summer and I didn't even stay for more than a few weeks before I was at the Burrow," I let out a shaky laugh and rubbed my eyes. "I should have realized it then,"

"No," Hermione answered gently. "You shouldn't have because this shouldn't have happened," I nodded numbly before letting out a shaky breath.

"At least they've stopped the hate mail," I murmured in order to change the topic.

"Thank Merlin, that last howler lasted a full five minutes before anyone thought to put it out," Ron agreed, shaking his head and retracting his hand from my shoulder.

"I want to know how she's been hearing all of these things," Hermione grumbled, accepting her handkerchief back. "Everything she's found out has been in private conversation,"

"Maybe she's bugged someone?" Harry suggested.

"Huh?" Ron's eyebrows were fully risen.

"Put little recording devices on a person to hear everything they say," I answered. "Or near where they are going to be,"

Hermione snorted. "Kailey, you of all people should know that Hogwarts' wards interfere with anything electronic,"

"I know," I answered, a little defensively. "I was just explaining it; his dad would probably find it interesting,"

Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes. "You told me that there would be a hint for me to figure this out," she muttered, sounding fairly annoyed. It was my turn to roll my eyes as the boys exchanged confused looks.

"I didn't think I'd have to; Harry just did," I answered before standing up just as Hermione's eyes grew wide in understanding. "C'mon, Harry, we've got to practice some more of those spells. I still can't get the hang of the Point Me Spell,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View:_

Beside me, Sirius took a deep breath and I plugged my ears. "HONEY, I'M HOME!"

Kailey and Harry winced while Remus rolled his eyes before levitating his trunk towards the stairs. There was a thunderous noise and a shriek from the basement before James burst into the room. "Hide me! Hide me!" he said, grabbing Harry by the shoulders and using him as a shield.

"James Nathaniel Potter! You get back down to the lab and clean up that mess!" Lily shouted as she came into the room, yielding her wand.

"You made a mess in _Lily's_ potions lab?" I sniggered at the idiocy of my brother.

"Hey, it's not my fault some people feel the need to announce themselves in surprising ways," he answered without turning around so as not to lose sight of his wife's wand.

"Er, Dad? Not that I want her to kill you or anything, but I don't think Mum will mind getting me out of the way first," Harry suggested, trying not to laugh at his foolish father as Lily advanced.

James looked between Lily and Harry for a moment before slowly inching his way past her and racing back to the basement. Lily shook her head before stowing her wand away. "Welcome home, Harry," she said, pulling him into a hug. "And you as well, Kailey,"

We had decided fairly quickly after the incident in the headmaster's office that we would return to Potter Mansion for the duration of the Easter holidays. Not only was I still furious with him but I was also beginning to show and we had yet to tell the rest of the school about my pregnancy. Kailey and Hermione had confirmed for me that the rumors of it were already flying around the girls' lavatories at a break-neck speed and I wanted time to mentally prepare myself before they were confirmed.

"What did Tonks say?" Lily asked as the kids headed out to the shed for brooms and Sirius and Remus went downstairs to help James.

I sighed and shook my head. "She didn't want to impose," I answered. "It's really a pity since it would make private conversations much easier to have if we were able to let her know about the two of you without her thinking we're all crazy,"

Lily laughed, "Well, you can try and tell her of us, I suppose. Does she know about Remus' furry little problem?"

I grinned at the memory of it. "Oh, yes. She was quite vocal about it,"

Lily frowned, a look of concern enveloping her face.

"Oh, nothing prejudiced. Remus' phrasing suggested to her that he thought she wouldn't want to be associated with him in any way, shape or form. Literally. She took offense to that suggestion. I believe the primary response was 'Just because I'm related to bloody pinheads like the Malfoys doesn't mean I'm an idiotic pureblooded arse'. Our dear Remus has now experienced the full onslaught of a woman's wrath," I finished proudly. "And she most definitely has the biggest crush on him,"

"It's about time he found someone," Lily grinned.

I snorted. "If he can pull his head out of the dirt; he reminds me of the ostrich. If I can't see you, you can't see me type thing,"

Lily sighed while accepting a mug of tea from one of the elves. "Thank you," the elf nodded and trotted back into the kitchen. "He needs a boost of self-confidence,"

"No, he needs a woman," I replied with a smirk though it dropped rather quickly. "One who won't come home so drunk she can't remember their fights…it's likely my fault his self-confidence is lower than it ever was."

"But don't you think Tonks would be good for him, then? If she's everything you've said then I'm sure she could make him see how great he truly is," Lily insisted after a long sip of tea. "Especially if she doesn't care about his furry little problem,"

I laughed, shaking my head. "I'm starting to think that playing matchmaker is a good idea for this situation. Especially since she has a crush on him already in any case,"

"Perfect," Lily grinned. "And speaking of perfection how is my niece? You're five months now, right?"

I blushed a bit, nodding and bringing my hand to my gently curving stomach with a small smile. "She's not making me ill anymore, not since I went to see Amanda," I answered.

"Huh, imagine that, a healer managed to make you feel better," Lily replied sarcastically.

I scrunched up my nose and stuck my tongue out at her.

"Oh, very mature, looks like she'll have two teenagers for parents," she laughed.

I smiled, though it faded. "We're going to announce my pregnancy when we return to the school," I said quietly. "How awful do you think the media will be?"

"It can't possibly be terrible, the news is so good," she soothed, reaching across the table to take my hand for a moment. "Regardless of what any of them say, you're going to be a wonderful mother, just as Sirius will be a great father,"

"I wasn't worried about Sirius," I answered with a slight smile.

"Not yet, you weren't," she said. "But I know you, and I remember what it felt like when I was pregnant with Harry. Granted, we were in the middle of a war and Voldemort was hunting for us, but still," she finished with a grin.

"Are you kidding? Voldemort is still hunting you, or he would be if he knew you and James were alive. For now, he's settling for Harry and apparently hoping to get Kailey as well. Never mind all of that, but now I'm pregnant with a baby I miscarried fourteen years ago…Merlin, Lily, what am I thinking?"

"Slow down, don't panic. I've been looking into that, just as you've asked and I've come to the conclusion that you technically did not miscarry," she said, nodding to one of the elves who had come over holding a mug of something steaming. "Here, take this,"

"What is it?" I asked, accepting the mug cautiously before sniffing it. "Oh! Hot chocolate," I grinned, blowing on it for a moment. "And how, may I ask, did you come to such a conclusion?"

"Swallow first," she instructed as I took a sip of my own. I held the mug between my hands and placed it on the table in front of me. "Aradia's soul was removed so we assumed that this meant she was miscarried. But we know that when a dementor steals a soul that that is all it takes. Victims still have functioning bodies, what they lack is the ability to make conscious choices,"

I frowned and took another sip before placing my hand back on my stomach and rubbing the curve gently. "So she wasn't dead?"

"Well, yes and no," Lily hedged, glaring into her tea cup before looking back at me. "Her body is long dead now, the trauma you went through combined with the lack of soul within her is what caused the miscarry,"

I smiled without humor. "Trauma of what? Losing her or actually facing the dementor?"

"Both," she answered and my false smile slid from my face. "But her soul…now that's the mystery, since souls don't actually die,"

"No, they either leave or are removed and since hers was stolen…well, we've proved it can be returned three times already," I answered before taking a long drink.

"Exactly, but we need access to her soul first. Our spell only works against a soul that's left a body, not one that was taken from it. And because it was stolen by a dementor we'll have to find a way to get it back." She replied, nodding.

"Well, the dementor has already found me again once. So the question isn't whether we can find the dementor, it's can you kill one once you've found it?"

Footsteps on the stairs interrupted Lily's reply. "Sounds like the boys are back from cleaning the lab,"

James entered the room, somewhat timidly and Lily's eyes narrowed. "So, Lily-love, you didn't have any—er, irreplaceable potions down there?"

"No potion is irreplaceable, James," Remus said tiredly, coming to sit down at the head of the table. "And you'd know this if you hadn't spent most of first year potions antagonizing Snape,"

"That may be true, but when you're creating new potions…" I trailed off as Lily's narrow eyes turned into a full out glare. "Merlin and Founders, brother, you are in trouble," I sing-songed.

"Please, James, tell me you did not destroy _that_ potion," she said, obviously retaining her rage as she closed her eyes.

"Well…what color was it again?" he asked while the three of us exchanged confused shrugs.

Her eyes snapped open and her stare looked ready to kill. "It was colorless and odorless and you know damn well how long it took me to get it right,"

"Oh, that one," James grinned. "No, that's fine," Lily exhaled long and slow.

"What exactly is this potion designed to do?" Remus asked as James carefully sat down next to his wife. Sirius, meanwhile, took my mug and sniffed it before taking a sip. Remus rolled his eyes as I smacked Sirius on the shoulder.

"Sorry, continue," I smiled as Sirius choked on the hot chocolate before putting it down in front of me.

"I've been working on it for years and now I've finally got it to the stage where it won't kill the first test subject," Lily said, smiling widely now that she knew it hadn't been damaged.

"Oh," Remus answered. "That's good,"

Lily blushed and nodded while James and Sirius sniggered. "It's very good. I've got to let it simmer a few more hours and then I'll need to find my subject…unless someone is willing to submit it to the Department of Mysteries for me?" she finished batting her eyes at me.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, laughing slightly.

"I have everything I need here, except a good testing facility. I already have all the forms needed to get this into the Unspeakables but they won't accept it unless it's from someone who's already got a name with them."

"Which you have," I pointed out.

"Well, yes, but they'll hardly accept it from a dead person," she answered, fidgeting in her seat. "And I'd rather James and I not become test subjects ourselves,"

I sighed. "Sure, I'll send it in, but you still haven't told us what the point of this potion is,"

She bit her lip and glanced at Remus. "I designed it as an…improvement to the Wolfsbane," she replied.

He blinked at her. "An improvement?"

She fidgeted. "Look, Remus, I know how you feel about this type of research but I really do think I've had a breakthrough,"

"Brilliant, because every other researcher hasn't had that very same thought," he snorted. Lily sighed and gave me a look, to which I shrugged. She had to have known this was coming; Remus had always been vocal about his distrust in this research ever since we had lost our positions at the Department of Mysteries. "All that ever comes of it is bitter aftertaste," he concluded.

"C'mon, Moony, be fair," James complained, putting an arm around Lily's shoulders, though she didn't look the least bit surprised at his second response.

"I'm only stating a fact, _Prongs_,"

"That may be, but other researchers don't generally know as much about werewolves beyond what they can glean from observation behind a glass wall in a dungeon, in what may be called an unnatural habitat if you will," I answered after another significant look from Lily. I looked back at Remus and gulped. "That's not to say that you have a natural habitat or whatever, I meant that those researchers are stuffy and only study what they can read,"

I winced at Remus' stare. "So what you are trying to tell me is that because Lily has actually taken the time to get to know me and my wolf self that she should have better luck figuring out what I should respond to?" I bit my lip, exchanged glances with Lily, looked back at Remus and nodded. He smirked, nodded once and said, "Sounds logical,"

I frowned and exchanged another look with Lily.

Sirius sniggered. "I would call that a point in Remus' favor, wouldn't you say, Prongs?"

"I would, Padfoot, I would," James answered, nodding.

**That's the end of this one! Oh and there was a statement about the contract being invalid because Kailey and Harry are both underage? Well, I can't really speak for JK, but my best assumption is that Dumbledore is the one who made the stipulation about the age. The Goblet is assumed to be thousands of years old and back then there was no age stipulation otherwise Dumbledore wouldn't have needed to install his own age-line to begin with. Again, I'm not JK, so I can only assume (unless she's made a statement that I'm unaware of). So I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next is 27!**

**:-D**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Sibling

**JKR owns HP, not me. **

**And so the journey continues…**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"Go on, give that a go!"

"Are you insane?"

"You won't even try?"

I raised an eyebrow at Harry as he dangled upside down from his broom, no hands. The entire break he had been trying to get me to learn some tricks. Early this morning, literally an hour before we were set to leave, he decided that he wanted me to flip upside down with no hands? I don't think so. Slowly, I shook my head. He frowned and huffed before trying to reach for the broomstick handle. I bit my lip so as not to laugh out loud at him as he began to gently swing himself forward until he reached a fast enough momentum that he could grab the handle.

"Thanks for that," he glared, fumbling with his glasses. I grinned and gave him a shrug in reply. That's when he fixed me with one of his evil grins.

"What are you looking at?" I asked defensively, slowly urging the broom backwards.

"An easy target," his grin widened and before I could ask what he meant exactly, he shot forward at a speed only a Firebolt could manage and knocked me off of my broom and onto his. I let out a scream at the impact and watched with terrified, wide eyes as Sirius' broom plummeted to the ground, landing innocently in the grass.

I looked up at Harry, his grin shrinking slightly as the shock slowly slid off of my face. I glanced down at my left hand to see the white of my knuckles recede to a normal color as I gripped the collar of his shirt before prying my fingers loose and sliding my hand around his neck for better support and a looser grip. The slight gasp of his breath was warm on my face and brought my eyes back to his, though I was sure that our faces were much closer together now…

The back door slammed opened and I jerked my face back several inches, though I let my eyes stay on his face; he looked as shocked as I felt.

"Harry? Kailey? Is everything alright? We heard a scream!" Sirius yelled. I looked down just in time to watch him come across his discarded broom. "Merlin and Founders, what happened?"

"A valid question," I mumbled glancing back at Harry, though this time he avoided my gaze.

The first few days of summer term were odd, but I couldn't seem to manage to put my finger on what it was. It couldn't be the lack of exams simply due to the fact that I hadn't actually had to study for my exams three years in a row now thanks to the combination of petrification second year, abduction third year and now this tournament. Not that Snape hadn't forced me into taking them the summer after second year or that Lily hadn't made me study enough to make my head want to explode last year. I paused mid-step on our way to dinner as the realization that the first time I'd be taking exams since first year would be for my O.W.L.s hit full force, similar to the way Hermione walked straight into me, not noticing how I was sidetracked.

"Kailey? Are you alright?" Ron asked as Harry bent over to help Hermione pick up some of the books she'd spilled from walking into me.

"Yeah, fine," I answered, not sure if my smile was convincing enough even if Ron did look away. I glanced back over my shoulder and gave Hermione an even weaker smile as she rolled her eyes at me, though she was smiling as well. My glance travelled over to Harry. Our eyes met briefly before he quickly looked away. I faced forward again, my brow furrowed, as we continued our way towards the Great Hall.

_That was unusual of him…in fact, when did we last talk just the two of us…? Oh and there it is. The oddity…wonder if I have a light bulb floating over my head…? This is Hogwarts, after all…_

I snuck a glance at Harry as he sat down diagonal from me and across from Hermione. He either didn't notice or pretended not to notice. Either way, it was beginning to fit into the puzzle I was forming in my head. We hadn't shared a conversation since our return from Potter Mansion, not even when we practiced in the Room of Requirement with Cedric. I looked down at my plate and frowned, though I didn't miss the confused looks that Hermione and Ron shared.

The chatter in the hall suddenly stopped and I looked up to the teachers' table to see Dumbledore standing, smiling pleasantly at us all. "Good evening to you all," he greeted, seeming much happier tonight than compared to the last few nights. "I trust you all enjoyed your brief holiday and are prepared or are preparing for the final weeks of term." Hermione turned back to look at me questioningly but all I could do in reply was shrug.

_This is the most random he has ever been, I swear…since when does Dumbledore give speeches at random times before dinner…?_

"I am honored tonight to deliver a very special announcement on behalf of two of our staff members here at Hogwarts,"

_Oh…right…not so random then…_

"I trust you shall all join me in congratulating and wishing luck to Auror Black and Professor Potter as they prepare for a blessed event that is to take place in August,"

It was as though the entire female population (as well as a few males) was suddenly in fits. Everyone already knew about the engagement, even though it had never been officially announced. However, the latest topic in the girls' bathrooms was definitely centered on the now discernable bump in Keena's stomach. Hermione and I had continually ignored all questions and insinuations, but it seemed we had done so pointlessly.

Dumbledore raised both hands in a quieting motion, though that merely muted the noisy giggles and whispers of "I knew it! I knew it!" that littered the hall. Only half of the boys and the majority of the foreign students looked at Dumbledore curiously as he raised his goblet, the teachers following and the rest of the school mimicking within moments. "To Professor Potter and her expected daughter!" he toasted and this time there really was no way to control the giggling that accompanied the echoing sentiment along with the audible 'aww's' as Sirius kissed the side of Keena's head while she blushed and grinned.

"I didn't know they were announcing this!" Harry grumbled, turning red as Keena kissed Sirius in return. "And is that really necessary?" he groaned at the wolf whistles that sounded from various points around the hall.

Hermione giggled at his discomfort while I grinned. "It's alright, Harry," she said, managing to control herself after he glared at her. "It's to be expected and besides, this is good news for once."

He huffed and stabbed his fork into the plate of steaks that had appeared in front of him with more force than was really necessary, muttering as he did so.

"Not jealous, are we Harry?" George asked from two seats away.

"No! I am no—!"

"Bet he is, Fred," Oh. I guess it was Fred two seats away then.

"Just like Bill was before Charlie,"

"I'm not jealous! I'm—!"

"And Charlie before Percy,"

"I'm excited, not jeal—!"

"And Percy before us,"

"—really not the least bit—!"

"And Ron before Ginny,"

"Are you listen—?"

"You missed yourselves," Hermione stated before Ron could open his mouth to defend himself while cutting off Harry once more.

"And besides," Ginny called from further down the table. "It wasn't just Ron who was jealous once mum found out I was a girl,"

This statement resulted in three pairs of red ears from the Weasley males present at the table as those of us who heard the story laughed.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I sighed as I entered my office the morning after Dumbledore's announcement. There was no mention of it in the _Prophet_ yet, but I was certain that was hinging on that one key word. Alana Collins had looked positively livid and I had been warily watching the owls circling above the hall to see if there was a scarlet letter among them, but there hadn't been. It was a relief, though, that the students now knew it was official. I hadn't liked wondering if any of them had noticed it, even with the slight notice-me-not charm, or being paranoid about whether or not they were staring. Now I knew that at least some of them would be.

A timid knock sounded on my door, making my jump a bit at the sound. "Come in," I called, leaning back in my chair to counter the slight ache in my back.

"Professor Potter?" she was a young girl, probably a first year, but I hadn't seen her before. She had long, sandy brown hair and big blue eyes. Her tie and the crest on her robes declared her a Ravenclaw. In her small hands, she held a crumpled letter.

"Yes, dear?" I asked, motioning for her to come and sit, while opening up the largest of my drawers to my desk to pull out one of the many boxes of tissues I had left over from the Yule Ball.

She opened her mouth to say something, but her tears brimmed over and suddenly she was sobbing openly, just as the bell for the first class rang over head. _What in the world…?_ I lifted myself out of my seat and walked around my desk to first give her a hug, intending to walk her to the chair in front of my desk after. That plan proved impossible when she returned the hug with gusto as though I were a lifeline.

"Sh, now, tell me your name, sweetheart," I said softly, summoning a tissue with my wand and wiping one of her tear-stained cheeks with it.

She sniffed two or three times before answering. "Alianna Anderson," she whispered, taking the clean tissue I offered her to blow her nose. "I'm a muggleborn," she murmured, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks again.

"Okay then, may I call you Alianna?" I asked gently. She nodded slowly, stepping back from me as though she had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry about your shirt," she muttered, though her voice was wavering and I knew she'd be back in tears shortly.

"Never mind that, Alianna," I answered my lips quirking into a half-smile. "It won't fit very well in a few weeks, regardless. Does your professor know where you—?"

A patronus suddenly bounded into the room. A wolf patronus.

"Keena," Sirius' voice confirmed my thoughts as to who exactly it belonged to. "Filius has just reported a missing student, a first-year called Alianna Anderson."

"Yes, yes, I know," I said, before the patronus could continue the message. It's mouth snapped shut and it blinked at me in confusion. I glanced at Alianna who was staring at it with wide eyes, whatever was bothering her was temporarily misplaced it seemed. "It may look like my animagus, but I think it's got Auror Black's brains," I said with a smirk.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"It's a patronus. They're made of good feelings, but are often difficult to cast. This one has been used as a messenger and I should probably reply to it before they rip the castle apart," I smiled, though it faded as she stared at the ground guiltily, her eyes threatening to brim over once more. Closing my eyes, I thought out my message before intoning, "_Expecto_ _Patronum_," and watching as the wolf disappeared while my dog raced off to wherever Sirius was. "Now, dear, come here," I said, gesturing to the chair.

She sat down stiffly, her shoulders shaking while she tried to smooth the letter out on her lap. "Am I in trouble?" she whispered.

"No, you're in no trouble," I answered, watching as her fingers traced out words on the paper. It was too white to be parchment. "But something is troubling you. Would you like to tell me?"

Her fingers froze over what I assumed was a specific word. "I don't want to leave,"

I frowned. "Then you won't."

She looked up at me, eyes watering again. "But won't they make me?"

I sighed and shook my head. "I can't make any promises until I know what we're talking about, Alianna. But if it's within my power, I won't allow anyone to make you leave,"

"P-promise…" she whispered, sniffling hard. "Please, d-don't let them m-make me g-go," she was crying again, almost as hard as she had been at first.

"Go where, Alianna?" I asked, slowly lowering myself so that I was on one knee beside her, glancing up as the door to my office opened to reveal Dumbledore. He looked haunted, holding a letter of his own. One written on paper.

"The orphanage," he answered softly as Alianna threw her arms around my neck once more as I stared at the headmaster in shock as I rubbed the sobbing child soothingly on the back. He held out the letter for me to read as she cried. It was from what appeared to be a muggle hospital, notifying 'The Academy for Specially Talented Boys and Girls' to the passing of Gretchen Anderson, grandmother and guardian of Alianna Anderson.

"Was it sudden?" I murmured, hoping not to upset the little girl further.

Dumbledore nodded. "The diagnosis was old age," he replied in kind, and I was thankful for the combination of my canine animagus and years of depending on my ears so that the strain to hear him was not so difficult.

"Was it?" I nearly mouthed.

He shook his head. "I do not believe so," his tone made me think our conversation was not over permanently. "I shall leave her in your hands,"

I nodded, though he came around to the front of her chair and placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. "Miss Anderson," he spoke gently, but she calmed long enough to listen. "You will never be turned away from this castle. I will notify your teachers personally and you may remain with Professor Potter for as long as you wish,"

She nodded against my neck and he stood and swept out of the room.

She eventually cried herself out, not once letting go of my neck as I spoke soothing words to her, though my knee protested slightly to this. When she was finished, though, I pulled away just enough for her to know that I wasn't rejecting her. "Come with me, we'll go to the Hospital Wing for a Calming Draught," _And I can get Dumbledore to meet us there so that he can tell me just what he thinks may have happened…_

After giving her the Calming Draught and a Dreamless Sleep, I settled myself into the chair next to her bed while Pomfrey fire-called Dumbledore for me. Within minutes, the headmaster was striding into the wing, looking as determined as ever, even if there was a sadness to his gaze.

"And just what do you think happened to her grandmother?" I asked without preamble, sitting up straight and giving the headmaster a curious look.

"Young Miss Anderson and her grandmother were the closest neighbors that Barty Crouch had. The records we have show that it was in fact Mr. Crouch who informed the two that Miss Anderson is a witch as opposed to the Welcome Witch that the Ministry typically employs to the muggleborn students." He answered quietly.

"So you think Alianna's grandmother was in the wrong place at the wrong time?" I asked, knowing he would answer in the affirmative.

"It sounds the most plausible, yes,"

I sighed and looked down at the little girl, one hand moving to take hers while the other cradled my stomach. I closed my eyes. "What _will_ happen to her, Dumbledore?"

A sigh and a rustle of clothing suggested that he had chosen to sit down himself. "Her grandmother was her last living relative according to her records in the muggle world. If those prove to be true, her identity in the muggle world shall cease entirely in accordance with the Statute of Secrecy and she shall be put into the care of the Ministry,"

I snorted and opened my eyes to give the headmaster a look. "Those fools?" I shook my head. "She's better off in a muggle orphanage than with them," I looked back at her and swept a piece of stray hair away from her eyes before glancing back at Dumbledore. He was looking at me calmly. "What?"

His expression turned thoughtful.

"_What_?"

"How many children were you and Sirius planning to have? If it's not too bold of me to inquire," he added as I blinked at him.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

The newspaper (and by that I mean Rita freakin' Skeeter) finally got wind of Keena's pregnancy and, as was fully expected, blew it way out of proportion. Within moments of reading the headline, I shoved the paper away from myself and rolled my eyes while Hermione explained to Krum that Keena McIntosh and Keena Potter was the same person.

"I am not sure that I haff understood you, Her-my-oh-knee," he said her name almost painfully slow, but she grinned at his correct pronunciation. "Vy vould she bother to sign adoption papers ven her adoptive parents are already…" he glanced at Harry, pausing.

"It's alright, you can say they're dead, it's only the truth," he said as Krum inclined his head. "But she said it was more for closure and it made it much easier when she and Sirius requested my guardianship from the Dursleys," he replied and Krum cocked his head for a moment in confusion. "My mum's sister," he clarified and Krum nodded.

"Hey, Harry, what's this about Professor Potter and Auror Black adopting?" Dean leaned towards us with his own copy of the Prophet, pointing towards something in the middle of the story. "I mean, Merlin, it's one thing to get her name completely wrong, but this makes no sense…unless they aren't adopting you?"

Harry shook his head. "Not last time I checked," he answered.

"Then how about some girl called Ally-Hannah Danderstan?" he asked, glancing at the page to make sure he got the name right. "Says she's a Ravenclaw and that her great aunt was her only relative and was murdered a few days ago,"

Almost as one, our section of the table turned to look at the Ravenclaw table as if one of us would magically know who this Danderstan girl was. That is, assuming that was even her name or that she existed. But the Ravenclaws were looking around their table curiously as well before a few of the first years, or what appeared to be first years, began whispering to one another, glancing at the head table and then one or two of them pointed to the entrance to the Great Hall. Our heads swiveled to see a small girl with long, sandy brown hair. She didn't seem to notice as nearly half the hall began whispering as she kept her eyes glued to the ground. I tilted my head to the side and exchanged a look with Hermione. Meanwhile, I noticed Harry turning from the girl to look up at the head table where his godparents sat.

Looking up at them, I saw that Keena seemed angry as Dumbledore and Sirius debated about something. As I watched, Sirius pointed to the girl who had just walked in before distinctly mouthing the words 'not fair'. I glanced over at Harry to see him frowning before he noticed my glance.

"What d'you think?"

I shrugged. "I think her name probably isn't 'Ally-Hannah Danderstan'…" I trailed off when he glared at me. "Well, excuse me if I don't know the answer to the first question you ask me in three weeks!"

"It has not been three weeks," he rolled his eyes.

"It has too," I replied, turning red, though whether or not it was out of embarrassment from admitting I had kept count or not was another matter entirely. "And I think if you want an actual answer, you're going to have to go and talk to Sirius and Keena," I added, looking at my plate to avoid his gaze.

"Am I interrupting something?" McGonagall's sharp voice interrupted whatever it was Harry had been about to say as he closed his mouth and shook his head. "Very well, you three, Mr. Potter, Ms. Snape and Mr. Krum, are to meet Mr. Bagman down on the Quidditch Pitch tonight at nine o'clock. It is at this time that the champions shall be informed of the third task,"

"Thank you, Professor," I said as Krum bowed in her direction. She nodded to both of us and turned to head towards the doors.

"Professor?" Harry called and she paused as he stood up to follow her. "D'you know what's going on with Sirius and Keena?"

She gave a stiff nod. "I suggest you speak with your aunt and soon, Mr. Potter,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Sirius brought Harry to our quarters during the lunch hour while some elves supplied us with more than enough food. I sat back in the loveseat, watching the two as they entered, laughing about something. The sight of it made me smile as I heaved myself out of my chair in order to hug Harry in greeting.

"How are you?" I asked, finding my eyes level with his. "Aside from taller," I added, rolling my eyes.

He laughed. "I've been as tall as you for a few weeks, actually," he replied before sobering himself. "I'm a little nervous, though. Bagman is going to talk to us about the third task tonight," he informed us as Sirius helped me ease back into my seat.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Just one more, and it's over,"

"That's what I say but then Kailey always goes over funny, especially when Cedric says it to either of us while we practice," he said, shaking his head and reaching for a sandwich from the little table in front of us.

Sirius and I exchanged frowning looks. "I can run it by Remus and Tonks," Sirius said. "We'll be on high alert the whole night, Harry, you can be sure,"

He nodded. "I know," he answered. "But what was it you needed to talk to me about?"

Sirius and I once again exchanged looks, though this time it was a small contest to see who would speak first. I won. "Mickey said you were wondering about something from the _Prophet_ this morning?"

Harry sat up in anticipation and nodded his head. "Yeah, there was something about an adoption? Is it true? Are you adopting another student?"

I sighed. "The thing is we were only considering it, but now that she knows about it…" I trailed off, shaking my head before I continued. "Alianna Anderson is her name, she's a first year Ravenclaw and her grandmother just passed away leaving her an orphan. She's also a muggleborn so in this case the Ministry would wipe away all muggle records and she would become a ward of the Ministry,"

"Like Kailey," Harry said, nodding. "Or like she would have," he amended when I opened my mouth to counter him.

"Yes," Sirius answered. "The thing is, Harry, how many wards of the Ministry do you know of at Hogwarts?"

Harry frowned and shook his head. "I don't know of any…"

"Exactly," I nodded. "What happens is that families who donate money are often asked to take in these wards and they're almost always adopted into the family. It normally doesn't happen since parents of children usually have wills concerning the child, but since Alianna's grandmother hadn't updated hers since discovering she was a witch…" I trailed off, looking at Sirius.

"It became invalid," he finished in short. "And since the family that has been donating the most in the past few years only has one child they would almost certainly be asked to take her in,"

Harry's frown deepened. "Whose family?"

"Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy," I answered, being careful to keep from spitting out their names. "For obvious reasons, we don't thinks it's a particularly good idea for Alianna to be sent there,"

I bit my lip and exchanged yet another glance with Sirius as Harry nodded and frowned at his food, a calculating expression on his face. Finally he looked up. "So what you're telling me is that right now this girl's options for a family as approved by the Ministry are either the pureblood, prejudiced Malfoys or the two of you? Why are you only _talking_ about it to me again?"

"We didn't want you to feel as though we were making a big decision without you," I answered, subconsciously rubbing my hand across my stomach.

He scowled. "Please tell me you weren't afraid I'd be jealous," he groaned, shaking his head. I raised an eyebrow at him as he looked at me. "The other day, when Dumbledore made the announcement, everyone thought I was jealous,"

I smiled while Sirius laughed. "Well if you're sure you won't mind it," he teased as Harry rolled his eyes at him.

"When will you tell her?" he asked instead of replying with banter.

"We won't tell her, we will ask her," I answered, shaking my head. "If she says yes, we'll see if we should have a muggle-style adoption or a magical one, but I'm getting ahead of myself. And we'd like for you to be there when we do ask, Harry,"

"What about tonight after dinner?" he asked. "This is kind of important to get done quickly, isn't it?" he added glancing between the two of us. "So the Ministry doesn't have time to ask the Malfoys if they'll do it,"

Sirius grinned. "Sounds about right," he said, leaning forward to grab a sandwich of his own.

"Then why don't you come straight to our quarters again for dinner? I'll likely see Alianna in my office soon in any case since she's avoided History of Magic for the last few classes," I suggested before stealing a bit of the sandwich in Sirius' hands before he could take a bite. "She says it gives her too much time to think to herself, so don't you even think about it," I added when Harry looked speculative at the idea. He gave me a guilty grin and nodded.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I stood by the entrance to the castle, bouncing on my toes as I waited for Harry to come back from Keena and Sirius' quarters so that we could go down to the Quidditch pitch for Bagman's announcement. It had been difficult getting Harry to pay attention in classes since lunch but when Ron asked him about it he only said he'd tell us after dinner. Well, after dinner he didn't stick around, only staying with us long enough to tell me he'd meet me in the entrance hall for the task announcement.

I sighed and checked my watch before remembering it didn't work. I groaned aloud and was about to head down to get Harry before hearing footsteps coming from down the hall. I looked up to see Cedric approaching and smiled.

"Hello Kailey," he said pleasantly. "Where's Harry at?"

"He's with his godparents," I answered. "Though doing what, I've got no idea,"

He cocked his head to the side. "D'you think it has to do with that first year Ravenclaw?" he asked. This time I was the one who cocked my head to the side.

"Who?"

"Er…I think Cho said her name was Alianna Anderson or something," he frowned, trying to remember. "Anyway, Cho was telling me that she been spending a lot of time in Professor Potter's office since her grandmother died. Then there was that story in the _Prophet_ about how they were going to adopt her…maybe that's where Harry is, helping them make it official or something,"

"But why wouldn't he have told me?" I asked, more to myself than to Cedric, though he did shrug in reply. "Well, do you think we should stay and wait for him then?"

But just as he opened his mouth to reply, Harry came sprinting up from one of the staircases. I rolled my eyes as he skidded to a halt between the two of us. "Sorry…I'm late…" he huffed, though he was grinning like mad.

"No worries," Cedric answered, turning to head out the doors. "What d'you suppose this task will be?" he asked before I could question Harry's happy expression.

"Whatever it is, it will probably be amazing to watch," Harry answered.

"Yeah," I laughed. "A-maze-ing," I only laughed harder when they looked at me curiously.

**And so ends another chapter. Yes, I realize that was an awful pun, but I just couldn't help myself. I hope everyone's holidays went well! Next chapter will be 28! So until next time!**

**:-D**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Dreams and Nightmares

**Disclaimer. **

**Best wishes to those of you who made it this far! I hope you've been enjoying it all!**

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Sirius," I groaned into my pillow. He didn't reply. "Sirius," I called again, a little louder.

He grunted this time.

"Get the door," I yawned before rolling over and closing my eyes.

I smiled mentally as he grumbled, but I heard him throwing off his covers and shuffling for the living room of our quarters as the knocking persisted, though it was softened when he shut the door to our room. Before sleep could fully reclaim me, however, I heard muffled voices, one sounding distinctly higher pitched than the other. I frowned and rolled myself out of bed, taking a moment to steady myself on my feet before summoning my robe and shuffling for the door. Just as I reached it, the handle turned and I found myself standing in front of what appeared to be a much more awake fiancée.

"What's wrong?" I asked, peeking past him to see Alianna, who looked as though she'd been crying, and what I assumed to be another first year Ravenclaw who had her arm wrapped around her shoulder supportively. I looked back at Sirius, confusion plain on my face.

"She's had a nightmare about her grandmother," he answered quietly.

"Another one?" I asked, though not in the least surprised.

He winced. "She says it was different," he answered. "She wanted to talk to us about it,"

I stifled another yawn and nodded, coming into the living room. "What happened?" I asked, sitting on the couch and patting the space beside me. Alianna hurried over and sat down, hugging me tightly, though not saying a word.

"Ali said it was real," her friend answered, though she frowned and shook her head. "Or more real than it should have been,"

Oh, Ravenclaws and their infinite attempts at making everything logical.

"How do you mean?" I asked, as Sirius motioned for the girl to sit down in the armchair while he sat on Alianna's other side, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"She said she had the same exact nightmare the night after she came back from Easter holidays, but this time it was clearer."

I frowned. "Alianna, what happened in this dream?" Sirius asked, keeping his expression concerned even through a yawn.

"I saw them," she whispered into my side. "Granny was taking a tin of biscuts to Mr. Crouch, we always bring him sweets during the holidays, but this time she forgot. At first I thought I dreamt it just because of that but then…" she paused and I rubbed her arm for her to continue. "The door to his house was locked so she left them sitting on his doorstep and started to walk home. She was at the bend in the street when I saw this great, big snake…it didn't go near her, like I was afraid it was going to," she said, sounding a little relieved. "And I didn't understand why but then I heard this hissing noise and it was coming from the trees and suddenly I could see a short man, hunched over, wearing a hooded cloak…" she stopped suddenly and I glanced over at her friend.

"Ali, you need to tell them," she whispered encouragingly.

She took a deep breath and sat up, taking one of my hands and reaching for Sirius'. He gave it to her and she held them both in her lap tightly. "He…he was the one the hissing noise was coming from…no, it was in a bundle he was carrying. I couldn't see what it was, but when it hissed again the snake stayed still and I remembered about Parseltongue and how it was dark magic," she paused to look up to see that her statement was right.

"Not always dark," I corrected quietly. "Harry speaks it,"

She tilted her head and frowned. "Oh…maybe he could have translated for me then if I could make the sounds…" I suppressed a grin at her curiosity.

"The rest of the dream, Alianna?" Sirius prodded gently.

She nodded, looking nervous again. "The bundle whispered something but I couldn't make it out, but then the man in the cloak lifted his wand and…and…"

"It's alright," Sirius interrupted, pulling her into a hug. "We understand, it's alright," he continued whispering soothing nonsense to her and I looked over at her friend as she stood to leave.

"I should probably go back to the tower," she murmured, glancing at the clock we had on the mantle. It read just after midnight. I nodded and stood to walk her to the door.

"Does she have these sorts of dreams often?" I asked quietly. She gave me a confused look. "The sort that seem real?"

"Yes, very often," she answered with a nod. "They sound vision-like when she describes them but she never knows the people in them…or not usually. But sometimes she'll tell me about one and then in the next day or so we'll see most of it happen. Well, something like it will happen," she paused and frowned. "Could she be a seer?"

I bit my lip. "I suppose…" I trailed off, not liking the idea very much if this were the type of thing she would be seeing. "Thank you for bringing her here Ms…?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Professor," she blushed, tugging on her brunette ponytail. "I'm Samantha McSimmons," the name rang a slight bell and I tilted my head. "You taught my older sister, Charlotte, for her seventh year,"

A pretty face with glasses floated through my mind. "Oh, yes, I remember, she was Head Girl that year," Samantha's face fell slightly. "You look just like her," I added with a smile and she blushed. "Thank you for bringing Alianna here tonight, Ms. McSimmons," I finished. "I'm glad to know she has friends she can count on,"

She blushed again. "I'm gladder to know that she's got a good family to go to," she answered quickly, sneaking a glance to where Alianna and Sirius sat on the couch. I smiled.

"Has she spoken to you about the adoption, then?"

"Yes, she says she wants the magical one, the one that would make her look like the two of you," she answered and I felt my heart skip. As if to emphasize the point, there was a sudden thump in my stomach.

"Oh!" I cried out in slight shock, bringing a hand to my stomach and looking down at it.

"Professor Potter, are you alright?" Samantha gasped in shock as the other two looked up from the couch.

"Yes, yes, fine," I grinned, looking over at the couch. "The baby kicked," I explained.

"Oh," Sirius answered. Then his eyes went wide. "Oh!" Alianna, meanwhile, had jumped off of the couch and ran over to me.

"She moved?" she asked, her wet eyes going wide.

"Yes, she did," I answered, reaching down to wipe a few residue tears from her face. "Here," I said, placing one of her hands over the spot where the baby had kicked. "Go on, little one, say hello to your big sister,"

I watched as Alianna's blue eyes rounded and lit up as the baby kicked again. "Wow,"

"I guess she just got excited," I smiled. "But now I think it's time for everyone to go back to bed," I finished. Alianna's face fell a bit, but Samantha nodded.

"Ms. McSimmons, was it?" Sirius continued at her nod. "Why don't I escort you up to the tower? Wouldn't want Filch thinking he can catch you out of bounds," he grinned.

"Thank you, sir,"

Sirius winced. "You can call me Sirius in private; 'sir' makes me feel old. I'll see you two when I get back," he added, dropping a kiss on my cheek and ruffling Alianna's hair making her giggle.

Alianna looked up at me as the door closed, one hand still resting on my stomach in case the baby kicked again. "Do I really get to stay here tonight?"

"Of course, silly," I answered, smoothing her hair back into place. "We won't make a habit of it, of course, but I think tonight is well worth the exception,"

She nodded and hesitated before hugging me again. "I made up my mind about what you told me about the adoption," she said quietly, looking up at me.

"Are you sure it's what you want? Once it's done, it cannot be undone," I said just as quietly.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. When do I get to sign the contract?"

"At a more acceptable hour," I answered with a small grin. "For now, you should be in bed. You can sleep in our guest bedroom for the night," I said before she could ask, beginning to lead her over to the room that had appeared in our quarters one morning soon after the announcement of my pregnancy was given. The magic at Hogwarts never ceased to amaze me.

"Will this be the baby's room next year?" she asked as I pulled the blankets back from the bed.

"Eventually, yes," I answered. "I hope you don't mind sharing during the school year…in fact you may need to share over the summer as well unless I can arrange something," I said the last part more to myself.

"I heard a rumor that Kailey Snape lives with you," she said as I tucked her in. "Is it true?"

"She does," I replied, sitting down for a moment to smooth out the quilt.

"Will she be…my big sister then?" she asked, pausing to yawn.

"No, Alianna, but I'm sure she'll act like one, just like Harry will act like your big brother instead of your big cousin," I smiled.

She yawned again, longer this time. "Will you come if I have a bad dream?" she murmured, sleep clearly overcoming her.

"Yes, I will," I answered quietly, noting the sound of the door opening and closing and glancing up to see Sirius leaning against the doorframe. _Must have shown her the short-cut…_ "Good night, Alianna,"

"Night…" she yawned. "Mum,"

I couldn't suppress the silly grin that took over my face as I gave her hand a gentle squeeze before standing up and walking over to where Sirius stood. We didn't close the door the whole way, just in case she did dream again, and left the door to our bedroom open. I sat down with a sigh.

"So," Sirius began, his grin fading a little. "What did Ms. McSimmons have to say about Alianna's dreaming?"

I blushed a little. "You heard that?"

"I doubt she did," he assured me. "So?"

I sighed and took his hand in mine as he sat down next to me. "I think we've got a little Seer on our hands,"

He snorted and I raised an eyebrow at him. "It's not as though we didn't already have one," he reasoned. "Maybe with two we'll have all the accuracy we need,"

I shook my head, frowning. "I do not want Dumbledore to know," I murmured. "And that's all there is to it; it's bad enough what he's doing to Kailey, I won't let him do it to my girl as well,"

Sirius grinned at that.

"What?"

"It's nothing," he shrugged, leaning forward to kiss me.

We went back to bed moments later only to be reawakened by a loud banging on the door. I groaned and rolled over to my other side before sitting straight up after a glance at the clock told me it was only quarter until six in the morning.

"Wazz goin' on?" Sirius moaned, yawning hugely as he finished asking.

"I don't know, but whoever it is, they're going to wake up Alianna," I said, getting myself out of bed as fast as I could manage. I searched for my robe for a second before realizing I was already wearing it and headed to the door.

"Sorry for the intrusion,"

"But is Auror Black in by any chance?"

I raised an eyebrow at the set of twins in front of me. "Do either of you own a watch?" I asked, stepping aside to let them in regardless, opting to ignore their large grins.

"We are sorry,"

"But this has gone on long enough,"

"And we figured this was probably,"

"And most likely,"

"The next best thing,"

"To actual blackmail," the one twin gave the other a look.

"Uh huh," I said, not really understanding, but heading over to shut the door to Alianna's room in any case. "And what would require such illicit action and how could Sirius help?"

"How could I help what?" he asked coming into the room and glancing between myself and the twins.

"We just had a question, really,"

"Maybe two," his twin corrected.

"But say someone were to place a bet,"

"And then lose that bet,"

"And then pay it off,"

"In leprechaun gold," they finished in unison.

Sirius frowned, scratching the back of his head. "I dunno boys, I think that's worth some sort of slim fine, isn't it, Keena?"

I shrugged. "If you could prove it happened,"

"Well, we could prove it,"

"But only if he gave us the register,"

"The one he recorded all the wages on,"

"And we think that's unlikely,"

"How much gold are we talking about, boys?" Sirius asked, frowning. "I could always just give the other student detention,"

"It wasn't another student,"

"This is part of the problem,"

"Since he's been ignoring our letters,"

My eyes narrowed at that. "Someone laid a bet with the two of you who was of age? Were you still underage at the time?"

"Yeah,"

"Is that bad?"

"Yes," Sirius and I answered at the same time, causing the twins to jump in surprise. I nodded for him to continue. "It's not legal in the wizarding world to gamble with minors without parental permission,"

"Which I'm assuming you didn't have because Molly was there," I added.

"Which means you need to tell us,"

"Or at least Sirius,"

"The name of this adult,"

"So that he can be punished,"

"Fined,"

"And to give you your money back, of course,"

"Naturally,"

The twins stared at us, open-mouthed.

Sirius grinned. "We've been together since we were in our fourth year at Hogwarts,"

"Did you really think that after all that time,"

"We'd be incapable,"

"Of finishing each other's sentences?" We finished together.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"I hate, with a burning passion, these damn stairs," I grumbled as Harry, Ron and I climbed the stairs for the Divination classroom. "It's utterly ridiculous, why is it that muggles have figured out elevators and escalators and we're still stuck climbing stairs?"

Ron sniggered at me while Harry rolled his eyes. "A bit touchy today, aren't we?" Ron asked and I glared at him. "Honestly, what is wrong with you?"

I settled a look on him. "Do you really wanna know?"

He blinked before his ears turned bright red and Harry turned away, blushing. I smiled at their obvious embarrassment before Ron asked quietly, "What the bloody hell is an elevator or escalator?"

We finally reached the top of the tower and I flopped down in the nearest cushion as Ron and Harry sat on either side of me. Harry yawned loudly just as Trelawney came into view, holding a small planetarium. I glanced at him, only to roll my eyes as he leaned on the table, exactly in the same position as Ron was getting into.

She began her rant and I felt my eyes sliding shut before I jerked myself awake every few moments to glance at Harry, looking for any type of warning sign that might let me know before he would start yelling. The fumes were thick in the room, though, and I was finding it difficult to breath in the heat. Finally giving in, I raised my hand.

"You have a question about Neptune, Ms. Snape?" Trelawney suggested lazily from her seat, pausing in her lecture. Her eyes betrayed her surprise at having a hand raised in her class.

"Sorry, Professor, but I was wondering if I could open a window? I'm not feeling very well in this heat," I requested, fanning myself with my hand.

"Oh, yes, very well, dear," she said, before continuing.

I weaved through the cushions to get to the window, opening it wide, noticing the beetle that had landed on the sill. In one swift motion, I lifted my hand and flicked it away from the sill, smirking to myself as I turned around. I glanced at Harry again as I came back to my seat, just in time to see him twitch and hear the first whimper from his mouth. I kicked him in the shin, gently at first and then harder when he didn't respond. I gave an aggravated sigh and knocked his arm out from under his face. He woke with a jolt as soon as he hit the table. He hissed in pain and clutched his scar.

"Mr. Potter, trouble?" Trelawney asked, looking annoyed at the second interruption.

"Just a headache…Professor," he added hastily. He glanced at me and I gave an almost non-existent nod. "Could I go to the Hospital Wing, Professor?"

"Yes, very well, Mr. Potter," she replied making a slight shooing motion, causing the bangles on her wrist to jingle. "Ms. Snape, you may go as well, I have already Seen you asking to leave," she informed me.

Suppressing the urge to blink in confusion, I nodded and followed Harry down the ladder, sparing a glance at Ron, though he was still asleep in his cushion.

"You couldn't've woken me any earlier than that?" he grumbled once we were a good distance from the classroom.

I sighed. "You know I'm not supposed to interfere too much,"

"Well that's all well and good, but couldn't you at least have figured out a better way to wake me up?" he persisted, rubbing his jaw.

I fought to smile. "I sawry, Harry," I cooed in baby talk. "Did I hurt your widdle jaw?"

He rolled his eyes at me, only making me grin wider.

"Should I kiss it beddah?" I continued, making him blush.

"Shove it,"

I laughed and tugged on his sleeve just as he was about to bypass the headmaster's office. "Cockroach Clusters," I stated happily and, for once, the gargoyle needed no further prompting.

We made it up the stairs and I was about to lift my hand up to knock on the door when a very quiet command to enter was given. I frowned and swapped a glance with Harry, who shrugged, before opening the door. Inside we saw Dumbledore just beginning to stand in front of the fire. His face looked calm, but there was an underlying depression in his features. The green flames of the fire died out just before he stood.

"To what do I owe the pleasure this afternoon of hosting two champions?" he asked, his voice sounding much more pleasant than the expression on his face.

"I…er, well…" Harry paused, scratching his head while I took a seat as Dumbledore gestured, stroking Fawkes when he came to me. "It really isn't that urgent sir," he finished. "If you have other business that is,"

"Under normal circumstances, Harry, I would tell you that nothing could be more urgent if you have a need to speak with me," he paused and sighed. "However, my presence is required at St. Mungo's and it is quite pressing. Would the two of you perhaps await my return here? I shall not be terribly long,"

"Of course, sir," I answered, only tilting my head in question rather than asking aloud for the moment. He nodded and turned back to the fireplace, lifting some floo powder into his hand before stepping into the fire and disappearing in a swirl of green flame.

Harry turned to look at me. "What d'you think?"

"Probably something to do with Crouch…" I trailed off as Fawkes gave a melancholy trill. "And I haven't properly thanked you, yet," I added to the bird. He gazed at me with his golden colored eyes, cooing softly before returning to his perch.

Harry sighed next to me, absent-mindedly rubbing his scar before his hand froze. "I didn't realize he kept that in here," he muttered, half to himself.

"What?" I asked, glancing around the office for whatever it could be.

"The sword," Harry said, pointing to it. "You've never seen it, have you? It was Keena who was in here just after the Chamber," he added, glancing at me.

"No, I haven't," I answered, leaning forward. The sword was longer than I had always imagined it to be and the blade had a slightly golden tint to it, though it was difficult to see through the glimmering light that was playing off of it. "Was it heavy?"

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "It felt heavier after I had killed the snake," he answered. "But that was likely just adrenaline," he paused, squinting at the case again before turning around. "What is that?" he asked, standing up and walking over to a Chesnutt cabinet. The door was partially open and inside I could see what must have been the pensieve.

I stood up and walked to stand behind him as he pulled the door open. "It's a pensieve…" I answered quietly, holding tightly to his left arm while his right fished for his wand.

"It looks like silver water," he murmured.

"More like vapor…smoke almost," I disagreed as his wand travelled closer to the bowl. He paused. "What?"

"It's not…dangerous…is it?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of the memory potion.

"Not to my knowledge," I answered quietly.

"So what happens if I—?"'

Before he could finish his sentence, the tip of his wand touched the mixture and we were transported inside of it. Our landing was fairly soft considering how hard the benches looked and, lucky for us, neither of us landed on anybody.

I gazed around, finding that we were sitting next to Dumbledore who, like the rest of the contingent in the courtroom, was staring intently at the doorways. In the very center of the room stood a chair with chains draped across it. Leaning forward, I saw that next to Dumbledore was Mad-Eye Moody.

"Kailey?" Harry interrupted my stare at the real man as I tried to find some distinction between him and the imposter. "What exactly _is_ pensieve?"

"Memories," I answered, smiling slightly before noticing the look he was giving me. "What? You thought I was going to let you come down here on your own?"

Before he could reply, the doors opened and Karkaroff was escorted inside, flanked by two dementors. I shuddered, not from the feeling, but from the idea of it. His trial was nearly verbatim, with the absence of one name. I frowned as I tried to remember and Harry noticed.

"What is it?" he muttered.

"He's missing one…his name was either Augustine or Augustus or something," I muttered in reply.

"Who?" he asked, frowning.

"Someone who was in the Department of Mysteries…Maybe Keena remembers him and what happened to him," I replied. "I hope he didn't get away," I added as the courtroom around us dissolved into a different trial.

This time, however, there were no chains on the chairs and Mad-Eye was no longer sitting next to Dumbledore. In fact, our position had moved closer to Crouch.

"How much can we trust this girl, Albus?" Crouch was grumbling.

"I would trust her with my life," the headmaster replied in true form. "Aside from this, she has been able to provide sufficient evidence from the memories of Alice and Frank," his tone was grave and somber at the mention of the Longbottoms.

"Are you quite sure, Albus? Memory extraction from them could not have been easy…" he trailed off and Harry glanced at me with a questioning look. "Besides, she still honestly thinks that Black was innocent,"

My eyes widened and Harry and I exchanged looks of shock as we realized who they must have been talking about. Before Dumbledore was able to reply, however, the doors opened.

Keena entered the courtroom, looking as she did before her adoption with her shoulder length black hair loose. Her robes were black and formal, which seemed to cause a stir in the stands.

"Honestly, funeral robes?" one witch behind us muttered.

_Well that explains why nobody other than students ever seem to wear black…except for Snape…wonder if I should talk him out of that…?_

She reached the center of the room and sat down, staring up directly at Crouch.

"Keena McIntosh," he boomed, silencing the mutterings in the courtroom. "You have been requested to present this day the information you found from the memories of Frank and Alice Longbottom, torture victims to the Cruciatus curse,"

"I have," she answered clearly, though her voice sounded a little rough, as though she had been crying or shouting recently. "From these memories, which I have shown to current Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, I have identified the four Death Eaters who tortured Alice and Frank into insanity,"

"If you have shown these to the headmaster already, then why come to a court session?" Crouch sounded annoyed and bored.

"Because I believe in order, your honor," her voice made clear that the title was an insult to Crouch. "And that justice can only be served through the proper channels. This witness calls for me to testify what I have seen so that it can be judged so that nothing is punished without cause," There were more mutterings in the courtroom accompanied by Sirius' name and Wormtail's.

"I could not agree with you more, Ms. McIntosh," he spun the title of her name in a similar manner, though she only gave a venomous smile as her answer. "Give the names so that justice might be done,"

"Very well," she answered, her smile becoming a sneer. "Rodolphus Lestrange and his wife, Bellatrix Black Lestrange were responsible for the capture of Auror Frank Longbottom. Rabastan Lestrange aided them in the further capture of Alice Longbottom. The four of them were responsible for torturing both of them." I frowned when she didn't mention the fourth name.

Crouch glared at her. "You said four people were responsible yet you've only listed three," he barked.

"Oh, do forgive me, your honor," her sarcasm was tangible. "I thought I had listed the four of them. Rodolphus Lestrange, his brother Rabastan and his wife Bellatrix and their young friend; Bartemius Crouch Junior,"

The courtroom was in uproar as she full-out glared at Crouch. The man himself, on the other hand, looked as though he were in shock as he slumped back into his seat while Dumbledore called for order.

The courtroom faded and morphed once more and now there were four chairs, all occupied with chained prisoners. This time, Keena was sitting in the stands between Remus and Dumbledore. The entire trial, she couldn't seem to decide if she wanted to glare at Crouch or his son as he pleaded innocent.

"If that boy is innocent," she hissed between her teeth as the dementors towed them away. "Then Sirius is guilty, and I'll happily kiss a dementor,"

She shook her head in disgust, standing up. "I'm going for a drink, either of you wish to join?"

Dumbledore sighed as Remus closed his eyes while she walked away.

"I think it is time we leave," Dumbledore's voice came through, though his lips hadn't moved. I jerked around to see a second Dumbledore sitting beside me. I grabbed onto Harry's arm and Dumbledore gently gripped my elbow and suddenly we were standing in his office once more.

"Sir, I'm sorry, I know we shouldn't have," Harry apologized, glancing at me.

I only shrugged. "I was kind of curious, sir, I know that doesn't excuse it, but we didn't even see what I thought we would…well, not really…sort of," I shrugged and a ghost of a smile feel upon the headmaster's face.

He lifted the basin from the cabinet and placed it in the center of his desk, taking a seat and gesturing for us to do the same. "And you felt it was necessary not to interrupt this particular moment?"

"Well, like I said sir, we didn't see what I thought we would," I answered, shrugging again. "Not that I learned much anyway,"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Curiosity is not a sin, but I would recommend more caution in the future, no matter what you may think it holds," he added, looking over his glasses at me. I gave a guilty grin and nodded. "Now, what is it that was troubling you two?"

"Just Harry, sir," I corrected. "Professor Trelawney thought I was going to ask to be dismissed so she dismissed me before I asked," I paused, frowning. "I didn't correct her,"

"So you were in Divination?" Dumbledore surmised.

Harry nodded. "Yes sir, I…er, well I fell asleep," he paused but Dumbledore only nodded for him to continue. "And I had a dream about Voldemort and Wormtail. He was torturing him when this letter arrived and it made him happier, but annoyed for some reason. He said that though one blunder was being repaired the other was still broken. Something about a Seer and her not going to the right family…?" Harry trailed off and I frowned again, glancing at Dumbledore who seemed intrigued. "Anyway, he decided not to feed Wormtail to his snake after all, but when he put his wand back on him, my scar started to hurt and then…well, Kailey woke me up,"

Dumbledore looked at me, frowning slightly. "How did you manage to wake him up, Ms. Snape?"

"I tried kicking his shin, but that didn't work so I sort of made him hit his head on the table," I answered, slightly embarrassed. "But it was either that or…never mind, it doesn't matter now,"

Dumbledore seemed satisfied and turned back to Harry. "Has you scar hurt over any other dreams at all?"

"Yes," Harry answered. "Once over the summer," he glanced at me.

"I see," he replied, gazing into his pensieve.

"Professor…Kailey said it was real the last time…what does that mean now?"

"It means that there may be some connection between you and Voldemort," he answered quietly, sounding far more troubled about it than I expected. "Harry, you must tell me if it hurts you again," he said, looking up to face Harry, who nodded slowly.

Dumbledore nodded as well before he looked over at me. "Kailey, you looked surprised at the mention of a Seer in Harry's dream," it sounded more like a statement than a question, but I still nodded. "Do you know why the dream was changed?"

"Crouch never disappeared," I answered quietly. "That blunder…it was only really half resolved…unless…?"

"Yes," the headmaster answered. "He has passed. Not a full half hour ago,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

I frowned at the headmaster. "What do you mean, Voldemort knows who Alianna is?"

Sirius and I were up in his office, originally there to collect the adoption parchment that he said was ready, but now stuck in deep discussion over the little girl in question.

"Isn't that quite a leap, sir?" Sirius agreed. "I mean, it was only a dream for everything we know,"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Ms. Snape confirmed that it was reality," he replied. "There is no other reason that Voldemort would target the late Mrs. Anderson,"

"Other than her just being there?" Sirius argued. "Voldemort doesn't exactly use reason in his day to day thinking. Besides, if we know that he was at Crouch's house, why haven't you searched it?" Dumbledore frowned. "You did search it? Why didn't I get to go?"

"I sent Aurors whose unexplained disappearance from the office would go by unnoticed by any remaining staff members," he replied.

"You didn't want to tip anybody off," I realized. "And that's all well and good, sir, but what does it have to do with Voldemort wanting Alianna?"

"Harry mentioned a Seer who would now be going into what Voldemort defines as the wrong family," he answered.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep and even breath. "Bastard," I whispered.

"Indeed,"

"So there's really no problem," Sirius argued. "She's probably not a Seer anyway, but we're still keeping her from the Malfoys,"

"And since the Ministry is still embarrassed over imprisoning Sirius, they've let us run through this whole process," I added. "It isn't as though we won't keep her safely away from any danger we can manage,"

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, sliding the official parchment towards us. "I simply thought you may wish to know about this,"

"Thank you sir," I said, lifting myself out of the chair as Sirius picked up the parchment.

He nodded once more and we left the office, heading for our quarters where Alianna and Harry would be meeting us. Remus and Tonks were inside with them when we arrived, all of them laughing over something. They looked up and once I saw Tonks' face, I began laughing as well. She had given herself a nose eerily reminiscent of a certain potions master, but with bright blonde curly hair.

I sat down on the couch next to Alianna, who gave me a one-armed hug while continuing to laugh as Tonks changed her nose to a pig's snout with fish lips. Sirius, meanwhile, shook his head as he not so subtly placing the adoption paper on the table before heading towards our room.

"Is that it?" Harry asked, the laughter dying from his voice. "The adoption parchment?"

"Not all it's cracked up to be, is it?" I asked.

He shrugged, but nodded.

"Who signs first?" Alianna asked, leaning forward to get a better look.

"I do," Sirius answered, returning with a golden signature quill and ink.

"Why?"

"Tradition," he answered after hesitating, though Remus' lips twitched, I noticed.

His signature glowed white for a brief moment as he handed me the quill and mine did likewise. I paused as I handed Alianna the quill. "Are you certain that this is the way you want this done?" I asked quietly. "It is a magically binding contract,"

She glanced at Harry for a moment. "Binding like the tournament contract?"

"Something like that," I answered. "But your appearance isn't all that will change, Alianna, your blood will too,"

"So I'll be more than just an adopted daughter?" she asked, glancing between the two of us. "In the muggle way, I mean,"

"Yes," Sirius answered. "Tonks might even be able to show you how you might look," he added.

"I could, but what's the fun in that?" she asked, winking at the little girl and breaking off most of the tension in the room.

Alianna smiled, "I'm sure,"

I held my breath as she signed her name. As she finished, the signatures glowed gold, as they had on my own adoption parchment, but there was a bronze tint to this light. The scarlet bands were accompanied by royal blue before they all glowed bright white. Suddenly, the light and the bands sprang from the parchment to Alianna's hands, coiling themselves around her until all you could see was her silhouette. She made no sound as the light faded, but smiled at me.

Her eyes were now closer to gray than blue, something similar to Sirius' eyes. Her hair was a darker version of my own dark brown, though hers so dark that it looked black at first glance. The layout of her face was the same, though her nose looked more familiar to me but it wasn't mine or Sirius' and her smile, though still her own, reminded me of my own image in pictures.

"Did it work?" she asked eagerly.

I grinned in reply. "It certainly did, Ms. Alianna Black,"

She beamed, hugging me tightly. Then she let go and stood to go to Sirius, who engulfed her in a hug of his own. I noticed tears shining in his eyes but chose to ignore them for the moment. "And you're my cousin now!" she smiled, moving to hug Harry, who looked a little shocked at her excitement. "Will you teach me to fly?" she asked before she had totally released him.

"Yeah, of course," he answered, a smile of his own growing. Satisfied, she turned to Remus and Tonks.

"Are you two going to be like an aunt and uncle?" she asked.

Remus blinked at her while Tonks blushed.

"They'd better be," I answered, getting her attention. She tilted her head. "Godparents generally are, after all," I added with a shrug.

Remus' jaw dropped, but Tonks looked much more excited than shocked as Alianna rushed at her to give her a hug. Remus recovered just in time to receive a hug of his own.

Later that night, once everyone had returned to their rooms or dorms respectively, I sat down on my bed across from Sirius on his. "You cried today, Sirius," I said quietly.

He gave me a guilty grin in return. "I know…it's just me being emotional,"

I snorted. "Sirius Black, don't you dare feed me that," I said, rolling my eyes. "You know as well as I do that you only cry when you're truly upset; not once have I seen you cry for joy,"

"Should have known I couldn't get by you," he said, though now his tone was much more somber. He hesitated, coming to sit beside me instead of across from me. "Do you remember this summer when you had that awful nightmare?"

"Yes," I whispered, both hands moving to rest on my stomach. "Why?"

"Do you remember when I told you I dreamt about her? About what she would look like when she was at Hogwarts? Or when she was flying on a broom?" he asked.

I nodded, frowning in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"

He bit his lip in discomfort for a moment. "Alianna looks just like I thought she would,"

I smiled. "I sit corrected; you were crying for joy then,"

He kissed my cheek. "No, just for a dream come true,"

**That's the end of this one! Maybe I should have warned you about the fluff at the end? Oh well, I didn't. Hope you enjoyed it enough to review! Until number 29!**

**:-D**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sacrifice

**Disclaimed.**

**Enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

We practiced and practiced. Sometimes Ron and Hermione would help us in the Common Room, other times we would go to the Room of Requirement and duel with each other or with Cedric. Sometimes we would pair off, sometimes it was every person for his or herself and sometimes one of us would sit off to the side and watch.

It was my turn to sit and watch for the moment, so I pulled out my book and started looking through it again. I turned the page, biting the end of my quill in annoyance as I re-read the scene again, looking for a loop-hole of any kind. _How could he get away in time but still leave behind the portkey…? Hm…oh! Apparition! That's it! If he apparates away, he can get to Hogwarts and warn Dumbledore before Voldemort even rises…! He must know how, he is seventeen, after all…maybe I'll ask…_

A flash of purple light out of the corner of my eye was the only warning I got.

I dove out of the way of a ricocheted curse into a softly padded hole in the ground that the room had generously provided to me without a moment's notice. Slowly, I peeked out from the hole, wand aloft, to see Harry standing with Cedric's wand in his hand and Cedric sitting up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Is it safe for us poor innocents to come out yet?" I called, more aggravated at myself for not paying more attention than I was towards whoever's spell it had been that I had dodged.

Cedric grinned, accepting his wand back from Harry while Harry rolled his eyes in my direction. "You're about as innocent as Fred and George when they've come out of Sirius' office in a good mood,"

Cedric snickered while I scowled. "What are you implying here, Harry?" I asked, hoisting myself out of the hole before it disappeared behind me.

"Nothing," he smiled, though it was slightly mischievous.

"Reckon we should call it a day, then?" Cedric asked, cracking his neck as he spoke. "Your disarming spell is really strong, Harry," he added.

"Sorry,"

"No, don't be," Cedric grinned. "That's a good thing,"

My smile tightened just a bit as I fought to keep it in place. "It'll serve you well," I agreed as the three of us headed for the doors. "Cedric?" I asked as he began to head towards the Hufflepuff quarters.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have your apparating license yet?"

He frowned, but nodded slowly. "Why?"

"No reason, just wondering," I answered, trying not to let any relief show on my face. _Maybe Harry isn't the only one with a skill that could serve him well…_

Since all three of us were exempt from taking the exams, we had requested permission from Dumbledore to use the time to practice. As a result, the common room was empty when we finally got there.

I sat in front of the fire and opened the book back to the page I had been interrupted on. Harry sat in the chair beside me and started making movements with his wand. "Is that where we are?" he asked suddenly. I looked up to see him staring at the book.

"Just about," I answered, closing it and tucking it back into my bag.

"So it's one book per year?" I nodded and he stopped his wand movements. "It looks as if there's loads left for the year nearly being over,"

"Wait until you see next year," I answered, giving him a grim smile.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"I don't know if I can watch this one, Sirius," I said quietly as we headed for the Quidditch pitch. He, along with Tonks and Remus, were dressed in deep scarlet Auror cloaks. We had spent the day with Harry, but with no excuse readily available to us, James and Lily had been unable to come with us. Instead, they would be staying in our quarters until after the tournament ended.

"It'll all be over soon, love," he answered in the same tones so that Alianna, who was chatting with Tonks, wouldn't hear us. "Send a patronus if you need anything," he said, kissing my cheek after I gave him a nod. "Take care of your mum for me now, alright?" Sirius said, walking up to Alianna who had paused with Remus and Tonks. She nodded seriously and gave him a quick hug.

"Mum, where are we going to sit?" she asked, turning to face me as the other three walked away.

"Well I am supposed to sit with the other teachers, sweetheart," I said, beginning to slowly climb the stairs beside her. "What do you say we find ourselves a seat next to Professor Dumbledore?"

She nodded eagerly, but stayed by my side until we finally reached the stand where Dumbledore was sitting. He nodded politely to us and conjured a cushion and back rest in the seat next to him.

"Thank you, sir," I smiled.

"No trouble, Keena, none at all," he answered. "How are you this fine evening, Ms. Black?" he added, leaning past me to smile at my blushing daughter.

"Well, sir," she answered shyly. "But I'm worried for my cousin and his friend,"

"Fear not, Ms. Black, Hogwarts is well protected," he assured her. She only nodded before facing the entrance to the maze where Bagman was calling for attention.

When the final whistle was blown and Fleur was lost to the darkness, a large screen appeared above the maze. It seemed to be showing random moments within, though I wasn't sure whether or not I was thankful for that. Surely it was better to know what was happening, right?

Alianna let out a small terrified whimper as something huge with a large stinger pounced at Cedric. I held her close to me as the rest of the stadium screamed and gasped as he tried to fight it off. "Merlin, Dumbledore, what was that thing?" I asked when he finally managed to get away from it.

"A blast-ended skrewt," he answered. I frowned at him, but turned back to the screen as it dissolved into an image of Harry and Kailey, moving through the maze, each taking it in turns to look over their shoulder or around a corner.

Suddenly they froze and Harry said something to Kailey, though she only nodded in reply. Her answer seemed to relieve him when suddenly a large, hooded dementor appeared in front of them. I gasped aloud, and hugged Alianna to me as tightly as I could.

"Why aren't they sending a patronus at it?" I demanded though Harry raised his wand and suddenly the dementor disappeared in a puff of smoke. I relaxed immediately.

Dumbledore reached over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Just a boggart, Keena, I would never allow those creatures onto these grounds,"

I gave a weak grin, loosening my grip on Alianna, though she held onto one of my hands. "I suppose it's a good thing I'm not in there, then, isn't it?"

"Mum, what's a boggart?" she asked as Dumbledore chuckled in reply.

"Creatures which turn into a person's worst fear," I answered. "They're mostly harmless things, but Remus knows more about them than I do. Perhaps he'll tell you when this is over,"

She smiled. "I'd like that,"

The image swirled again and we were faced with Krum as he rounded a corner. He stumbled quite suddenly, as though he had been hit by something. He shook his head and straightened up before continuing on.

"That was odd," I murmured, noting that Dumbledore gave a slight nod beside me.

Some minutes later, when nothing had happened to Krum, we switched over to watch Fleur. She looked unsure of something before she turned around completely and lifted her wand, shouting something, though no spell left her wand. Then, suddenly, the screen went blank. The crowd began wondering what was happening and Dumbledore stood quickly, lifting his own wand and aiming it at the screen.

"Mum, what's happening?" she asked, looking up at me with confused, blue-gray eyes. I shook my head and pressed a finger to my lips before moving to stand behind Dumbledore.

"Did you try a diagnostic spell to find the problem?"

"That is the problem," he answered, sounding a trifle winded. "Something is blocking me from doing so,"

I frowned and was about to lift my own wand when a piercing shriek rose from within the maze. The crowd began panicking in the absence of the red sparks. "Sir, they need to find her now," I said. "No one screams like that if they are capable of getting themselves out of harm's way," I added when he didn't seem to agree right away.

"Send a patronus to Sirius, have them find her," he ordered, not removing his wand from the position it was in.

It was some minutes later that Sirius and Tonks returned with what seemed to be an unconscious Fleur Delacour. Madame Maxime, having chosen to remain closer to the entrance of the maze, was shielding her from view within seconds as Madame Pomfrey began to run tests on the girl.

Bagman's voice filled the stadium moments later informing the crowd that she was alright, but was now disqualified from the task.

"Thank Merlin and Founders," I sighed, glancing back to see Alianna sigh in relief as well.

"I like Fleur," she confided. "She stopped some of the older girls from teasing Luna Lovegood by teasing them back, and Luna is a nice girl. She helps me and Sammy with Charms sometimes, and she tells funny stories,"

I smiled at her and nodded before turning to face Dumbledore. "Any luck?"

He shook his head. "The disruption seems to be coming from within the maze itself,"

"You can't counter it?"

"Not without putting those within the maze in a significant amount of danger," he replied. "More danger than they are able to contend with at the moment,"

I closed my eyes before heading back to my seat.

Alianna took my hand and leaned in close to me. "I had a dream last night," she whispered. "It was about tomorrow morning and you and Dad and me and a whole bunch of other people were sitting in the Hospital Wing next to a bed and the person on the bed was waking up," she gave me a tiny smile. "He'll be alright, Mum, I know it,"

I hugged her close to me. "Thank you, sweetheart,"

Suddenly there were screams filling the air again, though these sounded more male. I hugged her tighter to me when they were suddenly cut off. A moment later, there were red sparks coming from close to the center of the maze. I sighed in relief as Remus and McGonagall rushed in. They returned moments later, this time carrying Krum out on a stretcher.

"A Hogwarts victory," Alianna whispered, though her voice was strange. "Though it comes at a price and a sacrifice,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"What are you waiting for? Just take it," Harry said, leaning onto me for support. His leg was bleeding freely where the spider had bit him and his ankle wobbled dangerously when he tried to place pressure on it. The spider itself had landed on my left wrist when I didn't dive out of the way in time and it had taken all three of us to levitate the beast off of my arm.

"It wouldn't be fair," Cedric answered, shaking his head. "That makes two times that you've both saved my life in here; I shouldn't have made it this far,"

"We shouldn't have even been entered," Harry answered, readjusting his grip on my shoulder. "Go on, it's yours,"

I opened my mouth to suggest we all just send up red sparks when the searing pain returned full force to my head. I hissed in pain and closed my mouth with a snap, inhaling deeply through my nose.

"Kailey, you alright?" Cedric asked, coming to stand in front of us.

"Fine," I muttered, squeezing my eyes shut.

"You know, either way, this is a Hogwarts victory," Cedric stated suddenly. I looked up at him, unable to fully hide my fear. "What if we all just take it at the same time?"

Again, I opened my mouth to protest, but found my throat burning at the thought and it was as though I were breathing through a straw.

"Like a tie?" Harry asked, not seeing my expression.

"Yeah, why not?" Cedric shrugged. "C'mon," he said, taking Harry's weight onto himself. I stayed frozen in place, unwilling to go any closer to the cup, but unable to say so.

"Kailey, c'mon, it's over," Harry called. "Don't make me grab it without you," he teased.

Shaking, I walked over to stand next to them, Harry hanging onto Cedric and me hanging onto Harry's left hand with my right. "On three then," Cedric said. "One," he lifted his own hand. "Two," Harry raised our hands together. "Three,"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

The screen above the maze suddenly flashed with a bright blue light before the image on it was made crystal clear. The stands began going wild with excitement and I couldn't help the grin that was spreading across my face.

"On three then," Cedric said, his voice echoing across the stands, which were suddenly sitting in enthusiastic silence. He stood supporting Harry, whose leg I could see bleeding from here while Kailey stood holding his hand, her back facing us. "One," Cedric lifted his hand. "Two," Kailey and Harry didn't let go of one another. "Three,"

All three of them disappeared from view and I looked at Dumbledore expectantly. But the look on his face was enough to place terror on mine. "Where are they, Dumbledore?" I asked, surprised at how calm my voice was.

"Come with me, this spell takes a lot of power,"

"What spell?" I cried, standing up and following him down the stands, not letting go of Alianna's hand as we moved and she scurried to keep up.

"The cup was never meant to transport them," he answered. "Someone has sabotaged the task,"

I swore explosively before turning to look at Alianna. "Never let me catch you with that sort of language,"

She nodded quickly, not saying a word as we finally found ourselves on the field.

"Remus, Keena, come with me. The rest of you, keep everyone in the stands, allow no one to leave," he ordered, pausing to look at Alianna. "Ms. Black, you and Tonks need to go back to your parents' quarters. Tell the woman she must come to the center of the maze and the man that he must help keep everything in order. Go quickly,"

She gave a quick nod and ran over to Tonks before the two of them raced back towards the castle as fast as they could manage. He straightened up and nodded to Remus and I and we followed him into the maze. With a wave of his wand, we were granted a straight shot through to where the cup had been placed on its podium. He lifted his wand and aimed it straight at the point where the cup had sat.

"We must keep this spell going for as long as it takes to trace," he said quietly, but clearly. "If we do so correctly, we will be able to find them. When my arm begins to shake, repeat the spell and the movement so that it will take over. The incantation is _Portus comperi_," as he spoke the words, he swept his wand in a great sweeping arc, before aiming it at the podium.

Immediately, a beam of translucent white light shot up into the sky. Remus and I kept quiet, watching for any signs of the headmaster growing tired, though as the minutes passed the beam of light grew to be more solid looking. The sound of panting alerted me to Lily's arrival and I turned to her, holding a finger to my lips, nodding towards Dumbledore.

"What are we doing?" she whispered, her nerves hidden behind the necessity of quiet around us.

"Trying to locate the portkey," I murmured, glancing at Dumbledore, whose arm was beginning to shake. I went to lift my wand, but Remus shook his head, raising his instead.

"_Portus_ _comperi_," he intoned, copying the arc the headmaster had made minutes ago. The beam grew duller for one terrifying second as Dumbledore lowered his wand before it grew brighter again. I sighed in relief.

"Mrs. Patterson," Dumbledore acknowledged her with a nod.

"How effective is this, really, Dumbledore?" she murmured, trying not to distract Remus. Thank Merlin the full moon was two full weeks away.

"It is what we can manage," he replied. "The moment the location is known to us, I shall go with the understanding that certain of our party will follow and others will stay here," he settled me with a look and I nodded firmly before watching Remus.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

The only bit of news that I could find relieving was that my throat and my head had stopped hurting completely. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for my left wrist, which I had landed on upon impact. I bit back a cry of pain before lifting myself into a kneeling position and looking around at the cemetery that surrounded us.

"Where are we?" Cedric asked, helping Harry up off of the ground.

The location came to my mind and I felt no pain. "Little Hangleton Cemetery," I answered, shivering at the implication being able to tell my secrets again left in me. "We need to leave now,"

"Are you sure it isn't a part of the task?" Cedric replied, moving for a grip on his wand when he noticed I had taken mine out.

"Positive," I answered in a whisper.

"Someone's coming," Harry muttered.

"Cedric, go," I said quickly. "Now, go, before it's too late,"

Suddenly Harry screamed, falling to the ground as he clutched his scar in agony. I knelt on the ground beside him. "Go!" I shouted at Cedric when he moved to help me.

"I won't leave you here!" he shouted back.

"Don't be a fool, you can tell them where we are before it's too late!"

Harry gave another yell and I looked up in time to see Wormtail raising his wand.

"NO!" I screamed, launching myself over Harry and pushing Cedric to the ground. I felt the heat of the curse as it flew over my head. Pain exploded in my wrist again, but I ignored it, aiming my wand at Wormtail and shrieking out the first spell that came to my mind. "_REDUCTO_!" the light barreled towards him and he dove out of the way, allowing the headstone behind him to be blown to dust. "GO, CEDRIC, GO!" I shouted before sending off another reductor curse towards where the traitor had disappeared. But he didn't leave and I couldn't see where the rat, for he must have transformed, had gone.

"_Expelliarmus_!" I staggered backwards as my wand went flying from my hand. I whirled around to find myself at wand point. He gave me a twisted grin before raising his wand once more. "_Stupefy_!" the rush of red light knocked me into blessed darkness…

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

My arm shook violently at the sudden feeling of frozen ice that came over me. I shuddered and Lily quickly swept up her wand and took my place before I collapsed on the ground.

Remus and Dumbledore were at my side, though they forced me to stay on the ground. "What happened?" Remus murmured worriedly.

I shook my head. "It was just so cold…"

"Cold?" Dumbledore asked abruptly.

I nodded. "But I haven't felt that way at all since Kailey and I were separated,"

"You still have a shared magic of sorts," Dumbledore stated. "Your magics are related because your souls were in constant contact for so long. What did it mean when you felt this cold?"

"Usually that one of us was…unconscious," I breathed the last part before looking up at the two of them, terrified.

Quick feet upon the ground alerted me to the presence of a fourth person. Snape didn't bother to hide his emotion and his distress was so clear that I felt as though I could reach out and touch it. "Headmaster," he said, his voice hoarse as he lifted the sleeve of his left arm. "He's calling,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't know what I would see.

"Wake up, little girl," the voice I least wanted to hear hissed. "Come now, I know you're awake," he paused, waiting for me to respond. I didn't move a muscle. "Very well, _crucio_!"

My eyes snapped open at Harry's yell of pain. "Stop it, please, stop it!" I cried out, looking around frantically and finding that I was tied up to a headstone. On the ground in front of me, Harry lay panting as he was released from the curse. Surrounding us and acting as walls were the loyal Death Eaters.

"You see, Harry? What did I tell you? I always stop when asked politely," his pale face was calm as he opened his arms wide as if he were going to hug him. He moved forward and leaned over Harry.

"Don't touch him!" I shouted, straining against the ropes that bound me. "Don't you dare touch him!"

Voldemort's expression suggested he were raising an eyebrow at me as I glared at him. "Don't I _dare_ touch him?" he straightened up and walked towards me. "But what if I do dare, Kailey Snape?" his voice caressed my last name and I couldn't keep myself from flinching. He smiled at me, bearing his teeth. "Or should I say Keena Potter?"

"What?" I frowned, shocked. "I'm not Keena Potter," I shivered and pressed myself as far back into the headstone as I could manage as he lifted a finger and placed it over my lips.

"Do not lie to me, girl, or are you suggesting the dementor that kissed your child was a fool?" he spoke calmly, but his red eyes glinted. He removed his finger, but I remained stiff. "Admit it, and then you may apologize for lying,"

"But I'm not lying," I argued, trembling as he lifted his wand. "I swear it, I'm not,"

He sighed. "Very well, _crucio_!"

I screamed at the burning pain as it raced from every nerve ending it could find, my body writhing and twitching against the headstone. I only half heard Harry's pleas for him to stop over my screams. Finally, finally, it ended and I sagged against the ropes that were now holding me up.

"She's not Keena!" Harry shouted and I looked up as Voldemort turned to face him to see that he was being held back by Wormtail, the rat's wand at his throat. "She can't be in two places at once!" he continued.

Voldemort inclined his head. "So," he said quietly. "The two of you insist that Ms. Snape is herself and no one else, contrary to evidence from a dementor's legilimency?" He paused and lifted his wand, aiming this time at Harry. "I don't believe you," he whispered. "_Crucio_!"

"Stop it, stop it!" I screamed, realizing I had tears running down my face as Harry cried out. "I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Just stop it!"

"So tell me," he hissed, letting Harry off the curse.

"Harry," I whispered, trying to stop the tears from flowing down my face as he looked up at me, pale and sweating. "I'm so sorry,"

"How touching," Voldemort hissed, laughing loudly, enticing his maggots to laugh with him. "But that is not answering me,"

"I was Keena," I explained, not taking my eyes from Harry's green ones. "For years, I was Keena and she was me, but we're separate now. That's how she knew the future," I whispered. "Because I was in the past,"

"Are you claiming that you no longer know what the future holds?" he asked, moving to block my view from Harry.

I didn't answer immediately and he lifted his wand again. "No! No, please!" but too late, he aimed his wand at me and I felt a hot pain flash across my face. I could feel the blood running down my neck. "Tonight was supposed to be the end!" I screamed out, squeezing my eyes shut when he raised his wand again.

I looked up when nothing happened to see that he had paused. "The end?" he asked softly, a cruel smile coming across his features. "The end for whom?" he asked, bringing his wand down in a slashing motion that cut through the ropes and I fell to the ground on my hands and knees, crying out as my left hand crumpled beneath me.

"The Light," I answered hurriedly. "_My_ knowledge…it ends here…" I looked up at Harry as I said it, praying he would understand.

He shook his head slowly, his eyes betraying his fear.

"No matter if we have our wands or not," I said quietly. "We are too weak to defeat you tonight,"

Voldemort tipped his head back and laughed, making the skin on my neck prickle unpleasantly. "No matter what advantage, I will win," he surmised. I didn't move, but he took that as confirmation. "Then stand, both of you, stand,"

I did so, shakily, watching Harry as he did his best to balance on his leg. He was looking at me in shock and fear, though he limped towards me in any case, coming to stand by my side.

"Wormtail, retrieve their wands," Voldemort commanded, backing away a few paces. "I shall not have my victory seem any less than what it was," he added before he looked down and hissed at something. I gave a small start at the sight of Nagini.

Wormtail thrust my wand into my hand before pushing Harry's at him. "May we say goodbye?" I asked timidly, hoping the answer would be yes, even if Voldemort thought it would be funny to watch.

"I am a merciful lord," he replied, inclining his head.

I pulled Harry into a tight embrace, which he returned full force. "Do exactly as I say, when I say it," I whispered, putting my lips up to his ear before kissing him gently on the cheek and pulling away.

Before I could get out of the hug completely, though, he kissed my cheek in return. I looked up at him to find his jaw was set and I had to look away from his eyes.

"Now, to duel, children, we must first bow to one another," he called across the space between us. We did so, but quickly before placing our wands at the ready. "And now we begin!"

I dodged the red colored blast while Harry sent off a reductor curse, though Voldemort had no problem deflecting it. "_Avada_ _Kedavra_!" he cried just as Harry shouted "_Expelliarmus_!" I latched onto Harry's left arm as the beams of light connected, a bead forming in the exact center of impact. A golden web sprouted and caged the three of us in together, cutting us off from the Death Eaters who had begun panicking.

"Do nothing!" Voldemort screeched. "Do nothing unless I say so!"

"They run around like chickens with their heads cut off," I mumbled to Harry, who grinned slightly.

"What do I do?" he asked quietly as the bead moved slowly closer to us, causing his arm to vibrate.

"Force it back on him," I muttered, gingerly sliding my left hand to hold over his right, helping him tip the bead back towards Voldemort's wand. The vibrations dimmed on our end while Voldemort glared furiously at us. Finally, the bead hit the tip of his wand and he snarled in pain, though he did not release his wand.

A head began blossoming out and was quickly followed by the body of Cedric Diggory. I closed my eyes for a moment as a wave of grief swept over me. _I have to survive before I can cry…I have to survive…I have to…_

"Don't let go, Harry, don't let go," his voice echoed slightly as he approached us, looking over his shoulder to glare at a horrified Voldemort for a moment. Another figure began emerging from the wand, an old man with a cane. He looked Voldemort up and down before facing us.

"You fight him, boy," he said. "You don't let him get the two of you,"

A third figure, a woman with long dark hair, emerged from the wand. "Harry, hold on tight!" she called. "Just try to hold on a little longer, Kailey knows what to do," she nodded towards me and my breath caught.

"Kailey, it isn't your fault," Cedric said quietly, leaning towards us while the other two figures circled Voldemort, hissing curses at him. "Remember, destination, determination and deliberation,"

I swallowed a lump in my throat but nodded. "When the connection is broken," I whispered and Cedric nodded. "They will remain only a few moments. Harry," I paused and looked directly at him, holding his gaze. "No matter what happens you must get yourself to the portkey; it will take you back to Hogwarts,"

"I won't leave you behind," he answered urgently. "No matter what, I won't do that,"

"Harry," I snapped, though I managed to keep my voice in a whisper. "Do as I tell you. Without you, Voldemort will win," I held his gaze, glaring at him. "Don't argue with me about it, I won't get left behind, this is just for worst case scenario,"

"Do you promise to follow me back?"

"Yes,"

"Harry?" Cedric interrupted for a moment. "Will you take my body back? Take it back to my parents?"

"We can save you," Harry whispered but Cedric shook his head.

"No," his echoing voice denied. "A soul can only be summoned back once…I chose to come here and now to this first summoning…take it back for them? For me?"

The lump in my throat returned full force as Harry gave a firm nod. "I will," the ghost nodded in reply.

"Do it now," I whispered. "Ready?"

Harry nodded and suddenly he jerked his wand away, breaking the connection. We sprinted for the cup, throwing spells and curses behind us, while trying to dodge the lights of color as best we could. I could see the cup. I could see Cedric's body, a good five feet away. I chanced a look back at the sound of Voldemort's roar of rage. He was lifting his wand. I glanced at Harry and spun around, throwing a jelly-legs jinx at the nearest Death Eater, causing him to collide with Voldemort. I didn't see the curse that hit me, but I felt the impact as I flew backwards, landing twenty yards from Harry as he collided with Cedric's body.

"KAILEY!"

"_Swish and flick…its levi-oh-sa, not levio-saw…"_

"_WINGARDIUM_ _LEVIOSA_!" I shouted, watching the jet of light colliding with the cup. I jerked my wand towards Harry's right hand, outstretched towards me with his wand aimed at my chest, his left wrapped around Cedric's wrist.

"NO!" The cup collided with his wand arm and he and Cedric disappeared, cutting his second yell off from my ears.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Without warning, the locator spell imploded in on itself and a bright white mist suddenly shrouded the grounds. I looked around in confusion when suddenly I heard shrieking from outside the maze. Lily, Snape and Dumbledore sprinted by me as I moved as fast as I could towards the entrance where I could now see a crowd of people surrounding what appeared to be one unconscious figure and one struggling figure. The cup lay forgotten outside of the group.

"No," I whispered, trying to pull away from Remus as he gripped my arm to slow me down. "No, no, no,"

"Keena!" Tonks sprinted towards me and Remus. "Keena, he's alive, he's alive," she cried. "Calm down, he's alright, he's alive,"

"Harry's alright?" I asked, realizing belatedly that I was crying. "Let me see him, let me see him,"

"You need to calm down," Remus ordered. "Think of the baby,"

"I am thinking of my baby," I growled, moving faster now that we were closer. "My first loved child, my god-baby,"

The crowd of people, which consisted of Dumbledore, Mad-Eye and a few other professors along with Lily, James and Sirius on the inside, were trying to contain him as he shouted and thrashed. "NO! NO! I HAVE TO SAVE HER! I'VE GOT TO GO BACK!"

I looked next to him to see Cedric, lying with his eyes wide open, glazed. The outside of the crowd broke apart as James and Sirius alternated trying to keep him contained. "Harry, please," Lily begged, tears running down her pale face. "Please, Harry stop, please, you're safe now—"

"NO, NO I'M NOT! NOONE IS! HE'S BACK, DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? HE'S BACK, AND I LEFT HER THERE I—" he broke off suddenly, fisting his hands in his hair, moaning. "I left her there…" he whispered brokenly. "She promised to follow…she promised…"

I moved slowly to kneel beside him and Lily, Sirius moving to help me as I went down. I lifted a hand and took a fist away from his hair. His eyes were bloodshot and he was shaking. "You didn't leave her there," I whispered, wiping a tear from his eye before it had the chance to fall. "Not if she promised, you didn't,"

He closed his eyes and allowed Lily and I to hold him close.

I looked over his shoulder in time to see a lone tear sliding down Severus Snape's face.

**Oh lord, twice in one day! I feel rather accomplished, actually. I hope you all enjoyed it immensely and will join me again soon for our next chapter (number 30!). **

**:-D**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty: Deliberate Departure

**Disclaimer: Angst? Maybe a little. Blood? It could happen. A happy ending? Well…define 'happy'. It's certainly not as depressing as it could have been...**

**Oh. My. Gosh. Three updates. Two days. Man, when I get bit by a writing bug, I get bit **_**hard**_**. THERE IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT IN THE A/N AT THE END! But first, read and enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I panted as I ducked behind a large headstone, holding onto the stitch in my side. I shuddered as Voldemort shrieked in rage again, an answering scream echoed as he tortured another Death Eater. "Find her now!" he raged as the scream cut off abruptly.

I closed my eyes and focused. _The three D's…determination…I'm determined…definitely determined… _I tried to block out the sounds of another scream as another Death Eater managed to upset the Dark Lord. _Destination…I need a destination…the Hog's Head…but how do I think deliberately? _I shivered as the screams grew louder and fisted my right fist in my mouth to keep from making any noise. _I want to be at the Hog's Head…that's where I want to be…that's where I want to be…that's where I want—_

I stifled a scream as something latched onto my left arm, biting down hard. I opened my eyes to find myself face to face with the giant serpent. "_Expelliarmus_!" I managed to gasp out and her teeth released me as she flew towards the other end of the graveyard. A shout of joy mingled with fury exploded just behind me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, clutching my wand to my chest. "I want to go to the Hog's Head _now_!" I cried out relishing in the feeling of being squeezed through a tube.

I opened my eyes and took a deep breath before coughing, gasping as my arm stung, as though it were burning, at the large pricks where the snake had bitten me. My vision blurred for a moment as I stumbled into the wall of the building. _Not yet…stay awake…you've gotta catch that bastard…Crouch junior…_

I turned myself around and found the door to the building, wrenching it open and stumbling inside. The place was empty except for the barman, who gave a shout and ran over to me as my vision blurred and I fell to my knees. I felt as though my arm was being dunked into boiling potion water and I hissed in pain as it began to spread, trying not to scream.

"Miss? Miss?" his voice sounded distant, muffled, as though he were speaking through a pillow. He took out his wand and something silver shot out of it before it disappeared.

"Crouch…junior…not…not…" my brain wasn't working; I couldn't remember who he was pretending to be, the pain from the bite was fogging my mind. I thought I heard my voice echoing as I spoke.

"Blasted…take care…students…greater good…" I tried to keep up with the man as he spoke, but could only understand bits and pieces.

"Mad…" I connected suddenly. "Moody…Crouch…not…Mad-Eye…junior…"

His form was becoming blurry and I just barely made out a second shot of silver, but I thought I saw a green light just before the burning darkness claimed me…

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

We finally convinced Harry to stand up and walk with us. He leaned heavily on Sirius and James, Lily standing directly behind them while Tonks and Remus stayed back a ways with Alianna and me. Dumbledore, Tonks and Remus had tried touching the portkey at the same time, but it hadn't worked. Dumbledore was now staying with the Diggorys and Fudge, discussing where to take the body before anyone brought out a camera.

We passed by Snape and Karkaroff, who were arguing quietly about something, though Snape broke it off as we passed by. Karkaroff turned to have a look before he walked away in the direction of his ship. I frowned after him, but said nothing and held Alianna close to me.

"A price and a sacrifice," I murmured under my breath, closing my eyes briefly, commanding my tears to wait. I would not cry until there was nothing left for me to do.

"What?" Remus asked softly.

"Alianna, stay ahead with Tonks," I said quietly. "I need to walk slower, but I want you with the rest of them," she looked as though she wanted to argue but Tonks urged her forward. "It was something Alianna said while they were still in the maze. 'A Hogwarts victory though it comes at a price and a sacrifice.' Remus, I think Cedric's life was the price and Kailey…" I choked on my words and we stopped.

"We'll find her," he promised, giving me a brief hug. "She did promise to follow, and that is something the two of you have in common after all,"

I took a deep breath and managed to make the tears go away again. For now.

We arrived in the Hospital Wing not long after everyone else, but Harry refused to lie down in the bed.

"I can't be calm!" he shouted angrily when Madame Pomfrey told him to calm himself. "She's still out there! Why aren't any of you looking for her? She could die! She could already be dead!"

"Harry, please—" James tried.

"No! Would you have left her?" he shouted, pointing at Lily, whose face was wet and shining with tears again.

"Harry?" Alianna whispered, taking a small step forward, away from Sirius. He took a deep breath and I could tell he was forcing himself not to glare at her. "Please, just sit with me? I'm afraid," she said in a small voice that made my heart clench and there was no banishing the tears this time.

He hesitated, but nodded slowly, lowering himself onto the bed as she walked over and sat down next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Lily closed her eyes as he wrapped his right arm around the girl, breathing slowly and James sighed in relief. I felt a chair connect gently with the backs of my legs before someone put gentle pressure on my shoulders, forcing me to sit down where I stood. I looked up as Sirius did not remove his hands from my shoulders. I glanced over to see the Remus had put a hand on Tonks' shoulder as the young Auror's hair had grown to her shoulders and become a limp, mousy brown.

We were all silent for but a moment when suddenly a great silver patronus burst into the room. It was a phoenix.

"Poppy," Dumbledore's voice commanded. "Prepare a bed immediately,"

Not fifteen seconds later, Dumbledore himself rushed into the room, not stopping to say a word, but grabbing some floo powder and disappearing in a swirl of green flames. Madame Pomfrey, meanwhile, had flicked her wand at my old bed, making it with no trouble at all, before summoning a tray with several vials of potions and salves on a cart. The flames turned green again and Sirius rushed forward to take Kailey from the headmaster's arms, running her over to the bed. Her neck was covered in blood from a gash that had split open her cheek. Her left wrist was at an unnatural angle and above it on her forearm more blood was streaming away from another wound.

She hung limply in his arms.

Pomfrey ran a diagnostic spell over her faster than I could keep up with, though she froze over the girl's left arm. "A snake bite," she murmured.

"Voldemort's snake?" Harry asked, standing up, looking as though he would go running over to her if Alianna wasn't still hugging him.

"Was it there?" Dumbledore asked sharply.

"Yes,"

"A venomous viper, then," Dumbledore told Pomfrey.

Pomfrey waved her wand over the wound, siphoning something milky white away. "I don't have that antidote, Albus," she stated briskly.

But Dumbledore didn't appear to be listening as he headed for the door. It slammed open as he approached it and Snape rushed in. "Minerva, Pomona and Filius have him surrounded, headmaster. Where is she?" but instead of waiting for an answer, Snape looked over and ran to her bedside, standing next to Pomfrey. "Nagini?" he asked, fumbling for something inside of his robes.

"Yes," Pomfrey answered, sweat showing on her brow as she continued to try and siphon out the venom. "This won't work much longer, Severus,"

He growled something at her as he finally located the vial he had been looking for. "How long has she been this way?"

"Too long,"

He nodded and moved her wand out of the way, pouring some of the potion directly onto her arm over the bite marks. Then he lifted her head and Pomfrey poured the rest of the potion down her throat. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until I began to feel dizzy.

I took a deep, deliberate breath, watching her and waiting for her to start breathing regularly again. I sighed as she began to cough, finally releasing my tears for good. I barely registered that Harry was standing next to her bed, holding her hand, until I felt Alianna's small one slip into mine. I squeezed her hand reassuringly while leaning back into the chair.

"Harry?" she whispered, her eyes opening slowly.

"I'm here," he answered, sitting down in the chair next to her bed as his leg began to shake. "You're safe,"

She sighed, nodding. "Tired," she muttered. "Did they get him?"

Harry frowned but Snape answered. "Yes, we did,"

"Okay," she whispered, her eyes closing again.

Silence reigned the room as Pomfrey organized her potions on the tray. I watched as she washed the blood away from her neck and face before she applied a pale blue salve. She looked up at Lily. "If she should wake in pain at all and I am for some reason not here, you must give her this immediately. I've found vestiges of the Cruciatus curse in addition to the dark spell he used on her face. The scar that will form may be painful for a little while,"

Lily nodded in understanding, moving over to stand behind Harry. "Come lie down, love, she's not going anywhere," she said quietly. Harry hesitated, but let go of her hand and followed his mother to his own bed, limping.

Pomfrey followed him over and pulled the screens in order to heal his leg in private. I closed my eyes and sighed, squeezing Alianna's hand again before standing up.

"Who, Severus?"

"Bartemius Crouch Junior," he replied, hissing as though the name were poison.

I frowned but Sirius beat me to the question. "How?"

"He was posing as Mad-Eye," Snape answered through his teeth. "I should have seen it,"

"We all should have," Remus corrected. "She was terrified of him before she even met him," he reasoned.

"She warned me to keep him in the dark whenever possible," I added quietly.

"I should have kept a closer eye on him," Sirius growled, looking as though he wanted to curse something as his wand hand twitched. "Especially after what he did to Malfoy,"

"Then we are agreed that we are all fools," Snape sneered, though his look softened as he turned his gaze back to his sleeping daughter.

Dumbledore chose that moment to return to the wing, this time accompanied by a stretcher with a very thin-looking Mad-Eye Moody lying on it. "Everyone is a fool for at least five minutes a day," the headmaster said quietly. "Poppy, we shall need another bed," he called and she came out from behind the screens to lead Dumbledore to a bed in the rear of the wing.

James, meanwhile, pushed the screens surrounding Harry's bed back to reveal Harry tucked into the bed, staring at the ceiling with his glasses off. "A Dreamless Sleep, when you get the chance, Poppy," Lily requested quietly, holding tightly onto her son's hand.

"Not yet," Dumbledore said quietly. "Harry, I need to know what happened tonight,"

"That can wait until morning, Dumbledore," Sirius said from behind Alianna and me.

"No, it cannot, Sirius," he said, shaking his head. "Harry, the sooner we know, the sooner we might act," he added. "I understand that this is difficult, but I shall only ask you once,"

Harry gulped, glanced at Lily and James, and nodded.

"Alianna, what's say you and I take a walk?" Tonks suggested, noticing my worried glance at my daughter. "C'mon, we'll find Ron and Hermione and any other redheads we can manage, so that we can tell them that everyone is going to be alright,"

Once the door was safely shut behind them and we had all sat down near Harry's or Kailey's bed, he began. "You saw that the cup was a portkey," he stated. "It took us to a graveyard, the one where Voldemort's father is buried,"

He explained how his scar had hurt so badly that he'd fallen over, how he'd heard Kailey screaming at Cedric to leave. He paused as Wormtail stunned Kailey, gulping before he said, "And then he just killed him. Like he was nothing…" He continued on much quicker after that, though not sparing us any details. He only paused to show Dumbledore where the knife had pierced his skin so that Voldemort could have his blood. James and Sirius had sworn and Lily had whimpered while Remus and I traded murderous glances.

He told us about how Voldemort had gloated to the Death Eaters before cutting him loose to make him watch as he performed the Cruciatus on Kailey while she was still unconscious. He paused there and gulped, looking as though he might be ill before he continued through the story again. I glanced over at Snape when he mentioned how Kailey had admitted to the two of us sharing a body for years. His face was impassive, but his eyes were smoldering.

Then he reached his duel with Voldemort. "The light from the spells connected…and I—er, we, saw Cedric and a few others…what was that, Professor?"

"Priori Incantatem," he answered. "Your wands are twins, Harry, and therefore cannot be forced to fight one another,"

Harry nodded in understanding. "Cedric said…he said that it meant his soul couldn't be put back, that he'd chosen to come back to help us instead of waiting for us to bring him back and now it couldn't be done the other way," he said, glancing from Lily to me to Remus. "Was he right?"

Lily closed her eyes and I looked to Remus. "Our research…it indicated that the spell would be one time use only," he answered slowly. "If what Cedric said was true then…no, he cannot come back,"

Harry turned his gaze over to Kailey's bed. Then he closed his eyes. "She's going to feel like it's her fault," he muttered. "Cedric's already told her it wasn't," he added before moving on to how the two of them had run towards Cedric before she got hit with a spell, landing too far away from them. How she had used the levitation charm to force Harry to touch the cup.

The room sat in silence as we contemplated what Harry had told us, the only sound being Kailey's quiet breathing. Then Dumbledore opened his mouth. "Thank you Harry, you have done more than most grown wizards are capable of doing." He stood up. "Now rest,"

Harry nodded and Pomfrey came forward with a goblet of Dreamless Sleep. Lily helped him to hold it and his eyes slid shut quickly. She gave a slight smile. "He's so tired; he didn't manage to finish it all,"

"Severus," Dumbledore said, standing at the foot of Kailey's bed.

"No,"

"Severus, you must understand how important—"

"You've heard the story once tonight, headmaster. What happened to my daughter we can surmise from how she arrived. The barman's patronus told you she managed to apparate away after being bitten by the snake. Any other information she has can wait until she is well," Snape glared at the headmaster, as if challenging him.

"Severus is right, Dumbledore," I found myself saying. "Let her sleep uninterrupted for as long as she may; she's going to have to face reality soon enough as it is,"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View:_

_They were chasing me through the headstones, laughing when I tripped over Nagini's tail…the black hoods surrounded me, closing in, throwing curse after curse…my robes tore and blood spilled from every gash they made, laughing wildly as I screamed in pain…Nagini's teeth latched onto my neck and I could feel her venom work its way through my blood, boiling me alive from the inside…it was cold on my neck when she let go and I looked up to see his bright red eyes, hearing one word leave his lips, "Crucio!" I screamed so loud, I thought my ears would burst…_

"Kailey!"

I gasped, sitting up straight, looking around fearfully before I realized I was in the Hospital Wing. Harry lay in the bed across from me, held down by James as Lily stood and walked over to my bedside. Sitting in two chairs beside his bed were Keena, who was holding Alianna close to her, and Tonks, Sirius stood behind them as though he had been pacing. On the chair beside me (though he was standing now) was Snape. Sitting up on the bed next to Harry was Ginny. Ron sat in the chair on the other side of that bed, though the twins and Hermione were gathered on my side of the room.

I shook violently, hugging myself with my arms, wincing as my right brushed the angry red bite marks that were still exposed on my left. Snape reached out to touch my forehead, but I flinched at the contact and he retracted his arm quickly. Lily stepped up next to the bed, examining the tray of potions with care before lifting one up.

"Kailey, you need to take this," Lily said, as I backed away from her outstretched arm. I watched her as she cautiously sat down on the bed, holding the potion. "C'mon, love, it'll help with the pain," she murmured.

Carefully, I reached for it with my right hand, wincing slightly as my skin brushed hers, though I felt no pain at the contact. I took a deep breath and downed the goblet in one gulp, squeezing my eyes shut at the taste of it, but not saying anything. Immediately, I felt calmer, though now I was able to notice how sore my entire body felt.

The left side of my face felt as though it were coated in something thick and dry, but I felt no desire to see what it was. My wrist was wrapped up in thick bandages, though I couldn't understand why it wasn't already healed, but it didn't hurt so I dismissed it, looking instead to the bite mark. It looked like two, angry red blisters, surrounded by large blue-green bruising. It prickled in unpleasant warmth and I felt the urge to scratch it.

I placed the goblet back on the bedside table and lifted a hand to scratch, but Lily grabbed my arm before I could. I froze, staring up at her with wide eyes, my heart beating uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry, Kailey," she looked it. "But you can't touch it,"

"It's itchy," I whispered wincing as my voice cracked, looking at how she moved her hand so it was holding mine instead of gripping my arm. I looked back up at Lily and she turned to face Snape.

"That's the antidote working," he answered quietly. "It should stop hurting soon," he added, sitting back down in his chair.

I nodded in understanding. "Why isn't my wrist healed?"

"Does it hurt?" Harry asked from across the room I looked over at him and shook my head, noticing how he was still being held down by James.

"No, it's alright, Harry," I said. "You can relax,"

James mouthed me a 'thank you' as Harry finally leaned back on his own, though he stayed sitting up. Madame Pomfrey suddenly came bustling into the wing, followed closely by Dumbledore. She walked straight over to my bed, and took out her wand, aiming it at me. I flinched. Lily squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"Just a diagnostic spell, dear," she said kindly, slowly and gently flicking her wrist as if to emphasize that I wasn't in danger. "Did you give her a potion?"

"Yes, this one," Lily said, indicating the empty goblet.

Pomfrey nodded in satisfaction. "Good, now Ms. Snape, is that salve on your face feeling dry at all yet?"

I nodded timidly, wondering what it meant.

"Alright, then I'll have to reapply some more," she said, coming around to the other side of the bed, drawing the screens as she did so. Lily stood up, but I didn't let go of her hand. "Ms. Snape, you need to let her go,"

I did so after a moment, but quickly wrapped my arms around myself again, holding onto my sides as I did so. "Will this hurt?" I asked in a whisper again.

She paused, looking at me apologetically. I took a deep, shaky breath before biting my lips and shutting my eyes. It didn't matter. I gasped in pain as my eyes immediately began to water as she tried to remove the salve from my face. On instinct, I leaned away from her as she brought her wand up to remove the rest of it, whimpering as Snape stood to hold my legs down while Lily came behind me, holding me by the shoulders.

I moaned in pain, trying my best not to scream as she took the rest of the salve off of my face, leaning into Lily as far as I could. Finally, she started putting the new layer on, and the pain dimmed, though it didn't disappear.

Snape let go of my legs, but I didn't move from where I was, half of my face buried into Lily's shoulder as I waited for my breathing to go back to normal. She kissed the top of my head, murmuring soothing nonsense and I slowly realized I was crying and shaking. I took several deep, slow breaths before forcing myself to relax in her arms.

"I'm alright," I whispered in response to her question, though I'd only half-heard it.

Pomfrey gave me a questioning look, taking a hold of the curtains and I nodded, allowing her to open them back up. Everyone was staring between Dumbledore and Keena, who seemed to be having a whispered argument about something.

"At least ask her, first," Keena growled, glaring up at the headmaster before she sat back down.

I'm not entirely sure that he heard her response as he turned to face me. "Kailey, I must ask a difficult thing of you," he said quietly. I frowned at him, but he continued. "What do you remember of tonight's events?"

I closed my eyes again and took a deep breath before opening them. "I don't know how much I missed, sir, Wormtail stunned me and I'm sure Harry's already told you what happened,"

Dumbledore nodded. "Perhaps you could tell me how you managed your escape then?"

I nodded. "While we were running towards the cup, I looked over my shoulder. Voldemort was lifting his wand, aiming it at Harry's back. I turned around for a second and hit the Death Eater closest to him with…with…" I frowned. "Something stupid…jelly-legs? I think I hit him with the jelly-legs jinx," I paused uncertainly, before shrugging with one shoulder. "Whatever it was, it unbalanced him and he knocked into Voldemort. I didn't see who or what hit me, but I went flying and landed too far from where Harry and…" I gulped, feeling a wave of guilt wash over me.

"Cedric," Dumbledore whispered and I nodded.

"I h-had to get him out of there," I whispered as tears began to run down my face. "And I knew he w-wasn't going to leave me…s-so I made him," I paused to rub one of my eyes. "Voldemort was furious; he j-just started throwing the C-cruciatus at everything that m-moved. At first he-he thought I was gone t-too…I don't know how, but he r-realized I was still there, b-but I'd run further away, and ducked behind a headstone. I knew I c-couldn't outrun them and then I remembered what Cedric t-told me,"

I paused again to get my breathing under control and Hermione came closer to hand me her handkerchief.

"What did Cedric tell you?" Dumbledore pressed gently.

"Determination, destination and deliberation," I whispered.

"The three D's," one of the twins stated, though he was very quiet. I nodded.

"I didn't know how to be deliberate…before I c-could get away, Nagini bit me," I said, sparing a glance for my itching arm. "I got her to let go with a disarming spell…then I h-held my wand to my chest, squeezing it w-with both hands…" I trailed off.

"And you landed outside of the Hog's Head," Snape finished quietly. I nodded again, shivering as a wave of nausea passed through me.

Madame Pomfrey noticed. "Dear…do you know how many times he cursed you with the Unforgiveable?"

I frowned, thinking. "Only once…" I trailed off when she frowned at me.

"No," Harry called from the other side of the room, looking like he wanted to be sick. "He…he used it on you," he paused, gulping before looking away from me. "Three times…before you woke up," he gulped again before shaking his head and throwing back his covers. I closed my eyes, but heard as he raced towards the bathrooms at the end of the ward, with what sounded like James or Sirius, or both, following him.

The room was silent again, though I could hear the sounds of a few people sniffling as they tried to hide their tears. Suddenly the doors to the wing burst open. I opened my eyes in time to see Keena shiver violently, as though she were suddenly cold. I frowned before groaning. "I knew it," I whispered as Fudge stormed into the room, McGonagall looking livid behind him. "I knew I'd forgotten something,"

Lily's reassuring squeeze around my shoulders did nothing for me.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"_Please_," she begged and I had to turn away, trying to keep Alianna from being able to see them at the same time. "Dad, please, you can't go, you _can't_!" she was sobbing but Severus, already having said his last goodbyes to her, didn't stop as he headed for the doors. "_No, please_!"

The door shut behind him and her verbal pleas cut off as she was reduced to sobbing into Sirius' arms as he tried to hold her in place on her bed. Lily had been shown to Snape's potions lab by McGonagall, just after Fudge left, where she was making more Dreamless Sleep potion, since Pomfrey's stock had run out. Remus and Tonks had left already, going to round up as many of the old Order as they could find within the night. One of the twins had gone to write a letter to send off to the Weasley adults and come back again in time to help James hold Harry in his own bed, his twin being occupied with a crying Ginny while Ron held Hermione.

"Kailey, he'll be alright," Sirius was saying to her, trying to get her to relax.

"No, no!" she shouted. "He won't! He won't!"

"He will," Sirius argued as she continued to struggle against him. "He will come back; you'll see him in the morning,"

"He'll be _different_!" she shouted, shoving against Sirius' arms. "Don't you understand? I can't let him go back there! I _can't_," her last word came out as a wail as she gripped Sirius' cloak tightly, the bandages on her left wrist clearly broken and she winced as she flexed her hand. "It's all my fault, it's all my fault," she continued, shuddering as her sobs wracked her body.

"No, Kailey," Hermione's voice shook as she stood up. "Stop it," she commanded, moving over to sit beside her friend, taking Kailey into her arms, holding her tightly. "He's already different from what you thought, remember?" she said it so quietly that I had to strain to hear her. "He won't leave you,"

"But she already did," came her muffled cry as she buried her face in Hermione's shoulder. "Why should he stay when she didn't?"

I closed my eyes briefly before shifting Alianna gently so that I could stand up while she remained in our enlarged chair. I walked over to her, placing a hand on Sirius' shoulder and he moved out of my way as I sat next to her on her bed. I placed a hand on her back, leaning towards her as much as I could manage.

"I don't know anything about her, Kailey," I said quietly and she managed to pause her shaking and turn to face me. Hermione released her, gazing intently on the window sill next to Harry's bed, where the light from the mornings always came in. Slowly she stood up, and Kailey scooted over to make room for me as I pulled her into a hug. "But Severus Snape has always been loyal to what is his. And I _know_ that he considers you, Kailey Audrina Snape, his most prized possession,"

She whimpered, hugging me tightly. "What if he hurts him?" she breathed out and I knew no one else had heard her question.

"Your dad is strong," I replied. "He'll survive,"

Quite suddenly something slammed from across the room. Everyone jumped before turning to look at a pink-faced Hermione, who had both hands behind her back. "Sorry," she blushed.

Kailey, on the other hand, managed a watery laugh. "Get it?"

"Got it,"

"Good,"

Both girls shared a terrifying smile that made both Ron and Harry gulp.

I sighed at the sight and traded a glance with Sirius, whose expression echoed my feelings. _They're going to be alright…_

**I hope the end was just happy enough to make up for some (if not most) of the drama. If it wasn't, oh well, the story isn't over yet (though we're getting there rather quickly)! Questions? Review with them. Comments? Review with them. **

**Oh and I'm trying to think of a title for the next one! Right now the leaders in my head are ****Truthful Lies**** or ****Lying with Truth****. Obviously, I'm going for a mixture of truth and lies. If you think they're amazing titles (or hopelessly annoying) or if you have your own idea, I'd love to know about it! Next will be number 31!**

**:-D**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One: Knowing

**Disclaimed.**

**Enjoy!**

_Kailey's Point of View: _

I didn't want to sleep. I didn't want to disappear from the world only to return to reality a few hours later. I didn't want to dream. I didn't want to know the names of those who were most likely to die. I didn't want to know their faces. But what I did want, the very most, was to forget.

Everything.

I finally found out why Madame Pomfrey wouldn't heal my wrist with magic. She said it was because of all the pain potions she was going to give me for the Cruciatus, the antidote that was still getting rid of Nagini's venom and the salve that she had put over the cut on my face. Too much magical healing and the things that were supposed to battle the pain would start to battle each other, resulting in more pain instead of less. It was also why they wouldn't give me a Dreamless Sleep potion.

It wasn't fair.

Harry had argued with Lily when she came back with the potion, saying he wouldn't take it if I couldn't either. His arguments with his parents, godparents and Madame Pomfrey didn't cease until Alianna told him to stop. He'd looked at her as though she were something strange, but she just pointed to where I sat in the bed, tears I hadn't noticed running down my face until everyone was looking. He'd apologized in a whisper to the adults, accepting the potion with a sigh.

He was sleeping soundly now, as was Alianna on the bed next to his, though she hadn't let go of Keena's hand since falling asleep. Keena herself was drifting in and out of sleep, as was Sirius who stood, leaning against the wall between the two beds. Lily was in a similar state of sleep to Keena and Sirius, though she was leaning back in her chair. Hermione sat in the chair next to me, her head against the wall as she slept, Ginny lying on the bed next to her, Ron leaning on her bed from the other side. Fred and George were taking it in turns to stay awake and sit up with me, trying every now and again to coax me to sleep. James, on the other hand, was jerking himself awake, pacing silently up and down the wing. He would pause now and again to just stand and stare at his family, immediate and extended.

Fred was sitting up with me now. He glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. I didn't bother looking; he was going to tell me what time it was now, anyway. "Kailey," he whispered. "It's nearly four thirty,"

I sighed, almost in relief. "Go on and sleep, Fred," I whispered in reply.

"I'm not going to leave you alone," he replied just as quietly.

I sighed again, not bothering to argue with him, watching James pace back and forth to keep my eyes from drifting shut. Madame Pomfrey emerged from her office, almost silently, and the three of us turned to stare at her. She didn't ask me if the salve was dry this time; I had lied the second time she went to change it. She reached forward to touch the bone-dry salve and she shook her head.

I scooted to the other side of the bed, closer to Fred, and she sighed, glancing at James who was now standing at the foot of my bed. "Kailey, you need to let her reapply the salve," he whispered softly, looking at me over his glasses.

"Why can't you just sew it shut with a spell?" I asked, shaking my head.

"It's a dark curse, dear," she answered, pulling the tray closer to the bed as she sat down. I tried to move away again, but found myself leaning against Fred instead. "Unfortunately, they cannot be permanently healed,"

"It's going to scar?" I asked in a gasp, feeling the prickling of tears forming in my bloodshot eyes, taking a hold of Fred's hand as he placed it on my shoulder. I don't know if I was surprised so much as upset that she had confirmed the fact that I would have this long gash on the side of my face for the rest of my life.

"It won't be so bad if you let me reapply the salve when I need to," she answered.

I shuddered and leaned against his chest, but stayed as still as I could. It hurt just as badly as the first time. I covered my mouth with my right hand in a fist, trying to keep my whimpering quiet so that everyone else could keep sleeping. Fred held me closer, muttering soothing nonsense until she was finished.

Pomfrey gave me a sympathetic look before heading back to her office, closing her door with a soft click. I sighed and moved away from Fred, noticing the yawn he tried to hide.

"Fred, go to sleep," I whispered, wiping a tear away from my face as it fell. "Please, the sun will be up soon enough,"

He gave me a tired smile and shook his head. "Nope,"

"Kailey, leave him be," James said quietly, rubbing his eyes.

"You should sleep as well," I mumbled. "Or at least doze like the others,"

"As should you," he replied, straightening up and stretching out his back before resuming his pacing.

Fred and George switched again at six thirty and at seven Madame Pomfrey had to change the salve again. My lids felt heavy and George and James urged me to sleep a few more times, giving up when the other adults began to awaken more fully. Dumbledore returned to the ward not long after Keena shuffled back to her chair from a bathroom run. He took one look at me and sighed. I perked up immediately.

"Is he—?"

"No, Ms. Snape, but I am certain he is fine," he replied, but I didn't relax, frowning at the tired man in front of me. "I am merely sad to see that you attained a poor night's rest," he explained.

"Oh," was my intelligent reply as I sank back down against my pillows, staring down at my hands. My left wrist was slightly swollen now, but the bruising around the snake bite wasn't quite as swollen or blue as it had been, though the actual bite marks were still an angry red color. "Did Remus and Tonks have any luck?" I asked quietly.

Dumbledore nodded. "They've been in touch with quite a number of members already, all agreeing to sign on immediately," he answered for the benefit of the room. "Ms. Snape, I must insist that you try to rest," he said quietly, standing at the foot of my bed. I shook my head. "Have you slept at all?"

"No," James answered, rubbing his own tired eyes as he said it. "She stayed awake the entire night," I couldn't even find the energy to glare at him for his betrayal.

"Kailey," Lily said in a warning tone. "You won't get better until you sleep,"

"I won't get better having nightmares either," I disagreed quietly. "When will he come back?" I asked before anybody else could open their mouth. I looked at Dumbledore as expectantly as I could while fighting to keep my eyelids open.

He sighed. "As soon as he has reported to me, I am sure he will come to stay with you," he answered. "You and Harry will spend the day here until I have had a chance to speak with the rest of the school," he added quietly. I only gave him a look. "But of course, you already knew this," he turned and headed for the doors, pausing as his hand touched the handle. "Johnny, you must also get some sleep today," he said and then he was gone.

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

Alianna gripped my hand tightly as we headed for the Great Hall. An announcement had gone out to all the students and faculty that there would be a statement on Harry's and Kailey's conditions as well as a mention of when and where Cedric would be buried. Sirius and I were leading the Weasleys, Hermione and Alianna back to the hall for the announcement. Harry was awake and between the expression on his face and the redness of Kailey's eyes, I had decided that they should have some time alone with just James and Lily. Or really, just Lily since James had been falling asleep when we'd left.

The hall was nearly full when we arrived and the whispering started as soon as people caught a good look at our faces. I knew that mine was just as tired and red as the other three girls' were. I gave Alianna's hand a final squeeze before she went off to sit next to Samantha at the Ravenclaw table. The others leaned towards them as if to start asking her questions, but one well placed glare from her got them all to back off. I managed a smile at that. The Weasleys and Hermione found themselves seats closer to the head table where all of the teachers sat solemnly, away from the Durmstrang students. Krum's face fell when Hermione walked by without a glance.

Sirius wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we took our seats, me next to McGonagall and Sirius next to Snape's glaringly empty chair. He didn't remove his arm and under the cover of the table I took his other hand in both of mine. A few more stragglers wandered into the hall, quickly finding seats.

Dumbledore stood and silence reigned in the hall.

"Last night, a great tragedy struck our school. Two of your classmates have gone through a terrible ordeal, during which a third, Cedric Diggory, has died," I looked over at Hufflepuff's table. Many of the seventh years were crying and pale faced. "Kailey Snape and Harry Potter were both present at his death, but I must ask each of you not to ask them questions nor badger them. Do not stare and do not be hostile towards them for Cedric's death was no fault of theirs." He paused, gazing around at the students, some of them nodding in understanding. "If you feel you must do something for either or both of them, then be kind and courteous by acting as normal as possible. If you wish to pay your respects to Cedric, information regarding his memorial will be available over the course of the next few days. That is all,"

He sat down, but the hall remained unusually silent, with the exception of the occasional sniffle. I let my eyes travel from the Hufflepuffs to the Slytherins. They looked shaken, for the most part, and I was willing to bet that those with Death Eater parents had received the news of Voldemort's rebirth. Then my eyes slid towards the Gryffindor table to find them gravitating towards the Weasleys and Hermione. The five of them were taking it in turns to answer the murmured questions from their housemates and I was secretly glad that they only appeared to be taking yes or no questions. I looked back at Alianna and Samantha, frowning when I saw Fleur glaring at Cho Chang before turning and saying something to my daughter who was glaring at the table in front of her.

"What d'you think?" Sirius muttered, noticing my stare.

"I think Cho upset either one or both of them," I answered quietly. "I also think that she had better keep well away from my girl," I added in a dark undertone.

Sirius smiled grimly at me, kissing the side of my head. "And I think your hormones are starting to attack,"

"I'm seven months pregnant," I growled at him. "My godson and his best friend were tortured last night. My daughter is being badgered about it, _already_. And I have been craving chocolate, chips and salsa for almost a full twenty-four hours now and yet here I sit. How many of those things should be happening right now, Sirius?"

McGonagall cleared her throat and we turned to face her. "Sirius, for your own well being, do not answer that question,"

The plates cleared slowly as people toyed with their breakfasts, not in the mood to eat. I noticed Fred and George urging their siblings and Hermione to get something down and nodded to one of them when I caught his eye. When I looked over at Alianna, I noticed Fleur giving her a similar treatment. Cho had moved further down the table at some point. I looked down at my own plate and realized just how unappetizing it all really was. I sighed, shoving it away, putting an elbow on the table and resting my forehead on my hand.

"You alright, Keena?" Sirius asked quietly, looking at me cautiously.

"How could we let all of this happen, Sirius?" I asked in return, not moving to look up at him, just staring down at my enlarged stomach. "There must have been some way around that damn contract if only I had looked hard enough. Or even a way to look around her curse…we could have just taken the book from her," I shut my eyes as I felt the beginnings of more tears. "They're going to remember last night for the rest of their lives for all the wrong reasons,"

He didn't answer right away as he took a hold of my other hand in one of his own. "It is our job to protect them…but when we can't then it becomes our job to help them heal," he paused. "You were doing that last night, first with Harry when we didn't know where she was, and then again for Kailey after her father left. It's all we can do,"

"It isn't enough," I mumbled, looking up at him, wiping a tear off of my face.

"It never is," he answered.

We returned to the Hospital Wing to see Harry had been allowed to move to sit next to Kailey, whose eyes were closed. Lily, who was sitting next to Harry, turned when we entered and put a finger to her lips before whispering, "She's sleeping."

I let out a breath and turned to face the twins. "The two of you need to go and get some real rest," Every time I had jerked awake during the night, one of them had been awake. "If you'd like, I'm sure Madame Pomfrey wouldn't mind giving up a few more beds,"

One of them shook his head. "We got a reply letter from Mum last night, while everyone was asleep,"

"She's on her way here with Bill," the second twin finished.

"Said she needs to see for herself that her seventh son is alright,"

"Give it about an hour,"

"Maybe less,"

"Probably less,"

I nodded. "Well, you're both of age, but I still think you should rest a bit,"

"We will,"

"But not yet,"

They turned to tending to Ginny, who was staring at Harry with tears in her eyes again. Hermione and Ron had sat down on the bed next to hers, behind Harry to give him privacy as his shoulders shook. Lily was rubbing his back soothingly and I looked to Sirius. He nodded and took Alianna's hand from mine and led her over to the bed where she had slept last night.

I walked over to the other side of Kailey's bed and sat down, gently brushing some of the hair out of her face and away from the nearly-dry salve. I looked up at Harry then. His eyes were dry, though slightly bloodshot as if he had been crying, but he didn't look up to meet my gaze. His eyes were glued on Kailey's face, his hand holding loosely onto hers. Lily's face as she gazed at her son was pale. She looked lost, as though she could think of nothing more to say to him as she rubbed his back, her other hand resting on his knee.

He shuddered suddenly, covering his face with one of his hands. "I failed her," he whispered. "You should have seen her face when we found the cup…I thought…I thought if we touched it soon enough…it'd be over," his voice choked in its whisper and Lily wrapped her arm around his shoulders, pulling him into her arms in a tight hug.

"It is not your fault, Harry," she whispered, pressing her lips to the side of his head. "No one could have known,"

"She did know," he muttered in reply.

Suddenly, she started gasping, though her eyes were still shut. Another nightmare. I leaned forward and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking it slightly. "Kailey," I said, but she didn't awaken. "Kailey," I tried again, a bit louder.

With another gasp, she lurched forward into a sitting position, narrowly missing colliding with my head as I dodged her. She was panting and shaking, but she managed to keep from crying as she glanced quickly from me to Lily and finally resting her gaze on Harry. She sighed in relief. "We're at Hogwarts,"

Harry half-smiled at her, as though it were some secret joke, "Yeah, we're at Hogwarts,"

The doors to the wing opened and Dumbledore walked in, followed by Amos Diggory and his wife. My hand, still resting on Kailey's shoulder, gave a reassuring squeeze. "Kailey, Harry," Dumbledore greeted quietly. "These are Mr. and Mrs. Diggory," he said, indicating the two of them unnecessarily. "They wished to speak with the two of you, if you are willing,"

I clenched my mouth shut against a slight frustration with the old man. _As if either of them would have said no had he asked before bringing them in…What a ridiculous notion…_

I kept my fuming silent however, as both fourteen and fifteen year-old nodded their consent. Lily and I made no move to stand, though Sirius stood and motioned to the other kids who followed him out of the room obediently. Dumbledore drew out two chairs for the Diggorys at the end of Kailey's bed and nodded to Lily and me before exiting the room.

I looked to Harry, who was gazing at Kailey again. She sat with her eyes closed for a moment before opening them to look at Mrs. Diggory. "What would you like to know?"

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

It was late afternoon now. Mrs. Weasley and Bill had arrived in the wing not long after the Diggory's had left. Mrs. Weasley's face was red as she hugged first Harry and then me, but she didn't let her tears fall, for which I was decidedly grateful. The twins had returned with everyone else to say hello to their mother, but they and Ginny soon left the wing in order to get some real rest. I was still a little annoyed with the two of them for staying up all night in the first place, but I was also secretly happy that they had done so; it had made it easier for me to stay awake.

The six adults were speaking quietly on the other side of the room now. Harry and I weren't speaking aloud, but every now and then one of us would take the other's hand in a reassuring way, as if to confirm we were still both together and alive. Ron, Hermione and Alianna had gone down to the Great Hall to eat dinner with the rest of the school in order to give us some privacy.

Madame Pomfrey came in to change my salve again and I managed to keep from doing more than wincing as she did so, only griping Harry's hand. "Is it still bothering you as much, dear?" she asked, noticing how I didn't need to be held still this time.

I thought for a moment, noting that the throb in my face had dulled and shook my head.

"Very good, I think this last one should do it," she replied, nodding to herself.

"Then what will you do?" James asked, looking up from their conversation. "It's still open, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Yes, but now I should be able to close it permanently,"

"Will it still hurt?" I asked watching her face as she considered the answer.

"Not for too long," she answered. "But it will at first,"

I nodded to myself, letting my gaze travel to my left arm, where the bruising was gone, even though the bite marks were still alarmingly red. "And the bite?" I asked, gently tracing the marks with a finger.

"There will be some faint scaring," she answered, sounding much more like her brisk self. "But that should not hurt. Has it been bothering you since your last pain potion?"

"No," I answered quietly. "But if you're done putting the salve on, can you heal my wrist? The bandages are itching,"

She pursed her lips, frowning. "I'm sorry dear, but it's between healing your wrist and allowing you to have a small dosage of Dreamless Sleep tonight. I'm afraid you shall have to endure the itching,"

I scrunched up my nose, but said nothing. Muggles managed with broken bones and if it meant I could sleep without dreaming, it was well worth it.

The doors to the wing opened and I looked up expecting to see Hermione, Ron and Alianna returning from dinner. What I did not expect was to see Alianna sniffling, being walked into the wing by Fleur Delacour. Ron behind her looked as if he felt slightly faint as he held the door open for Hermione.

Fleur brought Alianna right up to Keena, who opened her arms to her daughter without hesitation. "What happened?" Sirius asked, frowning as he looked between the French girl and Ron and Hermione.

"Some of ze students 'ave been rude to 'er," Fleur answered, whipping her silver blonde hair over her shoulder. "Eet was incorrect of zem to question Alianna in zis way; as eef she were keeping zem from public facts," she shook her head. "I 'eard 'er refuse to answer and zey became 'ostile,"

She glanced at Harry and I in what appeared to be pity before looking back at Sirius. "Profess-air Dumbly-door was speaking to zem when we left, but I do not think zey would boz-air 'er again,"

"Thank you, Ms. Delacour," Keena said over Alianna's head.

Fleur waved her hand dismissively. "S'il vous plait, Profess-air Potter, call me Fleur,"

Her eyes flickered to Bill as she said this. I bit down on my lips to keep from giggling aloud as I noticed Bill staring at her in a not-so-subtle manner. She glanced at him again, this time for longer and he blushed and looked away, though Sirius and James exchanged snickering glances and Mrs. Weasley looked as though she wished she could scold her oldest son. The part-veela turned to face Harry and me, her expression returning to solemn, half-pity.

"I would say 'congratulations,' are in order for ze two of you," she said quietly. "But I believe my condolences must also be 'eard,"

"Thanks, Fleur," I said quietly, as Harry gave my hand another gentle squeeze. "For both," she nodded before sweeping out of the room gracefully.

That night, everyone else returned to their own dorms. Madame Pomfrey insisted I stay one more night, since it would be the first time I wouldn't have the salve on my face and she wanted to monitor me for adverse reactions between the scar and the snake bite. James and Harry were going to stay in some extra rooms Dumbledore had offered but Lily decided to stay with me. Keena had stated her intentions of staying with me as well, but I noticed Sirius' expression as the idea of his seven-month pregnant fiancée sleeping in a chair two nights in a row.

"I'll be alright, Keena, really," I insisted when Sirius failed to express his opinion aloud.

"Kailey—"

"I'll just be asleep the whole time and you need to actually sleep tonight too," I said, cutting her off. She frowned at me. "Please, Keena, just go sleep in your own bed tonight,"

She had sighed but then followed Sirius out of the wing, glancing at me once more before telling Lily to send for her if I had any problems. I sighed as the door to the wing closed behind them and looked up at Madame Pomfrey.

"Could I just wait a little longer? To go to sleep I mean,"

She frowned at me. "No, Ms. Snape, you have not had more than a few minutes sleep in the past twenty-four hours. You must get some real sleep tonight or you will hinder your healing,"

"Please? I just want to wait a little longer…for my dad, I mean," I whispered the last part, turning to stare at my hands as I fiddled with the sheets on the bed. I didn't look up as I felt Lily place her hand on my shoulder.

"Perhaps just a few minutes more, Poppy?" She suggested quietly.

"No more than ten," she answered and I sighed in relief as she walked away towards her office. "Kailey," she said quietly and I looked up at her. "When she comes back you do need to go to sleep,"

I nodded. "I know…but I don't like this waiting…what if…" I paused, closing my eyes. There were too many what if's to name.

She reached up and brushed my hair behind my ear, holding her hand gently against the side of my face. "Waiting is the most difficult part, Kailey, but Severus wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. He wants you to get better, at least as much as the rest of us do,"

"I know," I whispered, looking up at her and seeing nothing but her eyes. "But this is…this is all my fault. I could have stopped all of it but now he has to spy again and I…Lily I don't know what side he's on," I paused, terrified of the admission.

She frowned at me. "What do you mean? Dumbledore says—"

"Dumbledore doesn't know the future," I interrupted, still whispering. "And I only know two more years…I need to go to muggle London or somewhere that has these books," I clenched my right hand into a fist, wincing when I tried to move my left hand in the same manner. "It just doesn't make any sense! How could I be the only muggleborn to have come across them?"

Lily bit her lip, cocking her head to the side and I could practically see the wheels turning behind her eyes as she thought about any possible answers to my question before shaking her head. "The only thing I can think of is lack of popularity, honestly…perhaps they're more common in America?"

I shook my head, shrugging. "I couldn't tell you, I've been here for over a year now,"

"We'll go back this summer then, you and me at least," she said as Madame Pomfrey emerged from her office. "Then you'll know the rest of it,"

I glanced from her to Madame Pomfrey as she handed me the potion. I stared at the misty contents of the goblet for a moment. "I'm not sure I want to know,"

**That's it for this one! And I know, lack of popularity is so the opposite of reality, but this isn't real. So I'm thinking one more chapter, maybe two, for this story and then I'll go ahead and get started on the next one. I'm still looking for feedback on a good title (right now I think I'm stuck on Lies of Truth but we'll see). Next is 32!**

**:-D**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two: Promise

**Disclaimed.**

**It's the LAST CHAPTER! I will post the first chapter of the next story, ****Lies of Truth****, within minutes of posting this! I hope you've enjoyed it! Here we go! **

_Keena's Point of View: _

Not once in all my years at Hogwarts, both during and after my own graduation, had a Leaving Feast ever been so melancholy. Black satin banners lined the hall and none of the students seemed to be bothering to try to smile. My eyes travelled back and forth across the hall, taking in the tense atmosphere. I paused my gaze when it reached Gryffindor. Harry and Kailey were sitting so close together, it looked as though they were attached. Ron and Hermione were sitting across from them, holding what appeared to be a whispered conversation.

As I was staring, Kailey turned to face the head table, searching the faces for Snape again. She had already done so twice, just to confirm for herself that he was still there. He had come back at some time during the night, though she hadn't awakened. Apparently, she had been upset that they hadn't woke her up to see him even though it would have meant she would have had to try and sleep without the potion again for the remainder of the night.

I took the moment that she looked up to study her face again, trying to get myself used to the scar that now marred her face. Her eyes had heavy shadows beneath them and were still reddened from all the crying she had been doing. Her face was pale, and she kept lifting her hand to scratch at her wrist, still wrapped up tightly. The bright red scar on her left cheek curved in a jagged zigzag, beginning at the outside corner of her left eye and running down to the base of her jaw, nearly brushing under her chin. Her face softened in slight relief as she made eye contact with her father again before she turned back to her friends.

I moved my gaze to the Ravenclaw table to find Alianna sitting between Samantha and a girl with long, blonde hair and wide eyes. Fleur was sitting across from them, surrounded on each side by her own classmates. I nudged McGonagall beside me. "Who is that blonde girl sitting next to Alianna, Mickey?" I murmured.

She didn't say anything about the nickname as she glanced up at the Ravenclaw table. "That is Luna Lovegood, a third year,"

I nodded, smiling slightly, though it quickly slid off of my face as Dumbledore stood to address the school.

* * *

_Kailey's Point of View: _

"You know, I think I like her better this way," I said, smiling slightly as the beetle buzzed angrily around in her jar. We were on the train, probably more than half way to London by now. I had been a little surprised when they had told us we could take the train, but at the same time it was relieving. It was the simple comfort of normality.

I handed the jar back to Hermione, tensing as the door to the compartment slid open. "Figured it out, did you?" Malfoy stood in the doorway, smirking at us.

"I swear to Merlin and whoever the Hell else there is, Malfoy, if you do not leave this compartment within the next ten seconds I will use on you the same curse I intended to use on that _rat_ in the graveyard," I growled out, standing and aiming my wand at Malfoy's head, not even bothering to give him a chance to start.

"You of all people should have known better, Snape," he glared. "Seeing as you seem to _know_ what's coming better than the rest of us,"

It was my turn to smirk. "Then maybe you'd like to _know_ just how badly your precious _lord_ is going to lose. I hope your daddy likes dementors, Malferret,"

"Take that back you dirty muddy half—"

The resulting explosions that came from various points in the compartment left me standing a little confused. I looked down at the three unconscious boys in front of me before looking up at the other three in the compartment. "Um…_none_ of that was me,"

"No, it wasn't," Hermione agreed, stowing her wand back in her pocket and sitting back down on her seat, rubbing Crookshanks between his ears.

"Some was us, however," I looked back up to see Fred and George standing in the doorway.

"Didn't want to give you a chance to blast him," George explained.

"At least not before we could," Fred added.

I rolled my eyes, but put my wand away anyway.

"Oh, c'mon, Kailey," George grinned.

"Yeah, you know you wouldn't've left anything," Fred smiled.

Ron snorted. "Only thing wrong with that is it would've left a hole in the floor,"

I smiled widely, trying to ignore the sensation of tension on the left side of my face as I did so. _I suppose I'll grow used to it soon enough…_

The rest of the ride was full of easy banter as the boys played round after round of exploding snap. Hermione had curled up in one corner with a book, though she would smile every now and then when someone made a joke or if a particularly large explosion from the deck caused a bit of entertaining chaos as the boys tried to dodge. I sat in the opposite corner, next to the window, switching between watching them play and gazing out at the passing countryside with Whitetip curled up in my lap.

I was contemplating taking a nap when the train began to slow. I focused on what was outside to find that we were pulling into the platform. The four of us struggled to get our trunks out of the way before Fred and George rolled the still unconscious Slytherins back into our compartment, shutting the door behind them. I let Hermione and Ron take the lead, but I hung back a bit with the twins.

"So what ever happened to your bet with Bagman?" I asked, tilting my head. Harry looked over in interest.

"Oh that," George grumbled.

"We went to Sirius and Keena,"

"And Sirius filed some papers,"

"But the Ministry can't do anything,"

"Since there wasn't an actual witness,"

"What d'you mean?" Harry asked.

"We were all right there," I added frowning.

"They said you lot wouldn't count,"

"Said you'd be biased or something,"

I huffed and rolled my eyes. "I think I may hate certain portions and people at the Ministry,"

One of them snorted. "Oh I wonder why,"

"Sarcasm is unbecoming of you, Fred," I informed him, making George chuckle.

"I'm George,"

I guess that's why Fred chuckled.

"You know what? Take this," I said, digging around in my pocket for a moment and pulling out the winnings. Harry had made me hold onto it, something about his family having more than enough as it was. I hadn't bothered reminding him that my vault had been fuller than his first year.

Both of their jaws dropped. "All of it?"

"No, we can't,"

"Actually, yes, you can," Harry said, taking it from me and pushing it into Fred's hands.

"Honestly though, all of it?" George asked incredulously.

"Look, you guys have got to have figured out everything I know by now," I said quietly.

They swapped glances. "Well, we have been thinking,"

"And it is all pretty suspicious,"

"And all of the year before last,"

"You and Keena were never,"

"Even once,"

"In the same place,"

"At the same time," they finished in unison.

"Got it in one," I said. "But things are different now. And you two are supposed to take this,"

"Start your joke shop with it," Harry suggested. "We're all going to need it,"

"But I am not testing anything for you unless I know that I am," I said, pointing a finger at them sternly.

"So if we tell you?"

"I'll consider it," I answered with a grin. "Let's go, the others will be wondering after us,"

We stepped off of the train and found ourselves a trolley, managing to load everything onto it at once. "It's a good thing you forgot Hedwig at the beginning of the year; now we don't have to worry about her cage," I teased, grinning when he replied by bumping into my shoulder.

"Yeah, especially since you brought the cat with you this year," he answered, beginning to push the trolley towards the group of redheads we could see from our position in the crowd.

As if she had understood, Whitetip meowed in what sounded a little like agreement; though that may just have been the pet-owner in me.

We reached the group to find it contained Bill along with Mrs. Weasley. Hermione and Ron were bickering over something and Ginny was rolling her eyes at them. Sirius was leaning over Alianna's trunk, trying to get it to close all the way and I could see what looked like loose parchments through the cracks. Lily and Remus were chatting with Mrs. Weasley while James had drawn the twins off to the side of the group and they were in deep discussion which, I'll admit, had me a little worried.

"Where's Keena, Sirius?" I asked after looking around the group a second time to make sure I hadn't missed her.

He gave me a shrug. "Said she was going to work on something with the house-elves before we got there…something about bedrooms,"

"And she's nearly eight months along," Lily added, running a hand through her false blonde hair. "It likely wouldn't've been a very good idea for her to come along,"

"Is everyone here?" James asked, coming back over to the group with the twins. There was a general answer of affirmation and James nodded. "Good, why don't we get these trunks shrunk down to size?"

A few moments later we had said our goodbyes to the Weasleys and Hermione and were heading for the Leaky Cauldron to floo since we couldn't apparate with my cat. Lily went through first, offering to take the cat with her under a mild stunner so I wouldn't get clawed. I followed her through and Alianna came in right after me.

She looked around as she stepped out of the fireplace into the blue kitchen with wide eyes. I smiled, remembering how big it had all felt the first time I had stepped foot inside Potter Mansion. "Big, isn't it?" I grinned, accepting the now awake cat back from Lily. She only nodded in reply.

"But where will everybody sleep?" she asked, frowning and moving out of the way as Harry stepped out of the fireplace. "There are nine of us right?"

"Only eight," Lily corrected as one of the house-elves came over with a tray of towels for us to wipe our hands and faces with.

Alianna's eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head. "No…there's Harry, Kailey, you, mum, dad, Remus, Johnny, Tonks and me, right?"

I swapped a glance with Harry as she listed the name Johnny. He shrugged in reply, so I didn't say anything. She'd know soon enough.

"Tonks doesn't live with us," Remus said, having come through the floo in time to hear the end of her list. But Lily smiled slyly. "She doesn't…does she?"

"Not yet," James answered as he stepped through the floo. "Sirius said he'd apparate after he wiped our location out of the system back at the Leaky Cauldron," he added.

"What do you mean 'yet'?" Remus frowned but Alianna looked at him curiously and I smiled, suspecting where she was about to take this.

"Why are you surprised Remus? I thought you liked her," she said curiously.

His mouth opened and closed a few times before he seemed able to articulate words again. "What gave you that impression?" he sounded a little strained, to be honest.

The little girl shrugged, her grey-blue eyes gazing up at him. "Just a feeling,"

Before he could reply, Keena entered the kitchen. "What are you all doing standing around?" she asked, accepting the hug Alianna greeted her with. "How was the train?"

"So much fun, mum! Sammy and I finished all of our charms work and then started practicing making things fly around the room and once when I missed the book in her hands, I made Sammy go flying! We did that the rest of the ride and it was so much fun!" Keena blinked at her.

"You made each other fly around your compartment?"

She nodded eagerly.

"With the levitation charm?" James asked as a small pop announced Sirius' arrival next to him.

Again, she nodded.

James turned to Remus. "Why did we never think of that? All those hours in the library trying to figure out a way to make that stupid mist that turns gravity around and we could have just _levitated_ Snape and Malfoy…"

* * *

_Keena's Point of View: _

"Alianna, this is a very big secret, alright?" I said, sitting with her on her royal blue bed that night before dinner.

I had stayed at the house to help the house-elves expand the house by adding another floor to make room for more bedrooms. Binks had informed me that this was not the first time this had been done so that made the process easier. The elves hadn't let me lift my wand, but they had allowed me to tell them how big each new room should be. I had had them add three bedrooms, one of them a nursery, along with a bathroom for the new floor.

One of the bedrooms matched the Gryffindor theme of the remainder of the house, but I had instructed the elves to make Alianna's Ravenclaw themed. In that light, I had decided to make the nursery neutral from Hogwarts colors, making it a soft pink with some purple to accent it.

Sirius and I were with her in her bedroom, preparing to tell her about Lily and James. Sirius thought she probably already had a feeling about it, but I didn't want to rely on one prophetic dream. Besides, I felt like it would build our trust up with her.

She nodded seriously, keeping her eyes locked with mine. "I understand, I won't tell anyone,"

"Not even Samantha?" Sirius checked.

She considered that for a moment. "Can I tell Harry?" she asked carefully.

Sirius and I exchanged smiles. "Harry already knows this secret," I replied.

"Oh," she said her brow furrowing. "Then I'll not tell Sammy or anybody else from school,"

"Alright then, listen carefully," I said. "Years ago, before you or even Harry or Kailey was born yet, I had a very special job with Remus and Harry's mum, Lily Potter,"

"You're sister-in-law," Alianna said solemnly, nodding her head.

"Yes," I agreed. "Anyway, it was our job to invent spells,"

"You invented new spells?" she asked in awe, leaning forward. "Can you teach me how?"

"Slow down, squirt," Sirius laughed, ruffling her hair. "Let your mum finish her story,"

"Sorry," she mumbled, fixing her hair.

"I'll answer questions when I'm done, okay?" she nodded apologetically. "Well, the main thing we focused on inventing was a way to save people who died. I won't get into those details, but that was the job that we worked on for years. Now, do you know the story of the night Harry became the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Some," she answered. "You-Know-Who—"

"I'm sorry, whom?" Sirius interrupted. She looked at him oddly.

"Er…you know…the Dark Lord…?"

"Oh, you mean Voldemort," Sirius said, nodding. She twitched a tiny bit and he sat down on her other side. "We can't fear a name, sweetheart," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Old snake-face picked the name out himself so why shouldn't we use it?"

She took a deep breath. "Okay, V-voldemort, well he went to Harry's parents' house and he killed them. But when he tried to kill Harry, he couldn't and that's how he died…except he didn't really die…right?"

"He was removed from his body, yes, but he didn't really die. Here's the part of the story that no one else really knows. I was living with Harry and his parents when this happened. After Voldemort's spell back-fired, the house was left in a pile of rubble. You remember how Lily and Remus and I all worked on making a spell to save people?" I paused and she nodded, a calculating expression taking over on her face. "Well I used it on James and it worked. He was alive again and then he saved Lily,"

She frowned at me before looking forward at the wall, thinking. "But…Harry doesn't live with his parents…everyone told me he was an orphan?"

"He grew up without his parents and without knowing he was magical, yes," I said. "But Lily and James decided that that was the best way to keep him safe; by not letting him know he was a wizard. Last year, though, your dad…" I paused and looked up at Sirius.

He sighed but looked down at the little girl who so strongly favored him. "Do you know about what I did last year, Alianna?"

"Some of the older kids said you had been in jail for a long time but then you escaped to prove that you didn't kill thirteen people with one curse," she said, nodding her head. "Which is silly, because you're so nice and fun, dad, you couldn't have killed all those people,"

"That's exactly right," I smiled. "But he needed help proving he was innocent to Professor Dumbledore so at the end of the school year last year Lily and James came back into Harry's life."

"Why didn't they just come back to him when he found out he was a wizard? And why doesn't the rest of the world know that they're alive?"

I bit my lip but Sirius answered instead. "It's complicated, but they're on a secret mission of sorts. Remus, your mum and I are too, but they can do more in some ways because not many people know that they are alive,"

"Who else knows?"

"Well Harry, his friends, the Weasleys, Professor Snape and Dumbledore along with a few of our old school friends, but they only found out last January," I answered.

She nodded. "So I have an Uncle James and an Aunt Lily?" she asked.

"Yeah, you do," Sirius answered, exchanging a confused glance with me.

"And I have a cousin, and a mum and dad and a new little sister coming," she looked up at us and smiled. "And a godfather and godmother and an almost-older sister-cousin…my family just keeps getting bigger. How are Johnny and Libby relat—oh…oh! Is that what they really look like? I thought you would look like your brother, mum,"

I laughed. "No, that isn't what they look like when we're all safe at home," I answered. "But you will need to remember to call them Johnny and Libby when there are other people around,"

She nodded quickly. "Can I go meet them again?"

Just then a shout of "Dinner!" floated up from the first floor and through the open door. Alianna launched off of her bed and sprinted for the stairs. Sirius and I sat on the bed for a moment, smiling at her enthusiasm.

"Mum, dad, c'mon!" she shouted, running back into the room. "I have an aunt and uncle to meet and if Harry is anything like the rest of the boys in Ravenclaw, I do actually want to get there before all the food is gone!" she said, taking each of us by the hand and dragging us towards the door.

"Go ahead with her, Sirius," I said pulling my hand away from Alianna's and giving Sirius a gentle shove on the shoulder. "I'm going to take these stairs a bit slower, but there's no need to make her wait when she's so excited,"

He grinned at me and scooped Alianna into the air, making her squeak in surprise as he lifted her to his shoulders. "There, now she's not going anywhere," he said, holding onto her legs as she rested her hands on top of his head, laughing.

"This is so much better than levitating in the train," she grinned.

I smiled up at the two of them, one hand resting on my stomach. I knew the smiles wouldn't last forever. I knew that war was on its way and that it would try to tear my family apart. But I also knew that no matter what, I would fight my hardest to keep them all by my side. I sighed.

_Yes, war is coming…but we will all make it through. I promise. _

**It's shorter than usual, I know, but it's also the last chapter and I didn't want to open a new can of worms right at the end, if you know what I mean. Thank you all so much for reading! The next story is called ****Lies of Truth**** and can be found on my page!**

**:-D**


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